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Guideline

Consolidated guidelines on HIV testing services, 2019

Year of Publication
2020
Issuing Institution
WHO
Links
Google Scholar,WHO IRIS

Recommendations

47 included recommendations

Women who disclose any form of violence by an intimate partner (or other family member) or sexual assault by any perpetrator should be offered immediate support. Health-care providers should, as a minimum, offer first-line support when women disclose violence. If healthcare providers are unable to provide first-line support, they should ensure that someone else (within their health-care setting or another that is easily accessible) is immediately available to do so

Status
Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Demand creation to increase HIV testing services (HTS) uptake and engage those in greatest need of services is a valuable tool for mitigating stigma, discrimination and criminalization. Demand creation approaches may need to be prioritized, depending on the setting, focus population and available resources, as part of a strategy to reach people with HIV who do not know their status and who have high HIV-related risk. A wide range of demand creation strategies have been rigorously tested to assess impact on HIV testing uptake and the proportion of people with HIV diagnosed, but often later outcomes related to linkage to care or prevention have not been measured. Evidence-based platforms for delivering demand creation include: • peer-led demand creation interventions, including mobilization • digital platforms, such as short pre-recorded videos encouraging testing.

Status
New

All settings: Only specific groups of people in high HIV burden settings or individuals with HIV-related risks need post-test counselling messages encouraging retesting at the appropriate intervals. WHO guidance recommends annual retesting for: • all sexually active individuals in high HIV burden settings and; • people who have ongoing HIV-related risks in all settings. These include: - key populations, defined as men who have sex with men, people in prison or closed settings, people who inject drugs, sex workers and transgender people; - country or epidemic specific risk groups such as men and adolescent girls and young women in southern Africa - people with a known HIV-positive partner.

Status
New

ART initiation should follow the overarching principles of providing people-centred care. People-centred care should be focused and organized around the health needs, preferences and expectations of people and communities, upholding individual dignity and respect, especially for vulnerable populations, and should promote engaging and supporting people and families to play an active role in their own care by informed decision-making. The introduction of the “treat all” recommendation (ART for all people living with HIV regardless of CD4 cell count) supports the rapid initiation of ART, including the offer of same-day initiation where there is no clinical contraindication. People with no contraindication to rapid ART initiation should be fully informed of the benefits of ART and offered rapid ART initiation, including the option of same-day initiation. Rapid ART start is especially important for people with very low CD4 cell count, for whom the risk of death is high. People should not be coerced to start immediately and should be supported in making an informed choice regarding when to start ART.

Status
New