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Biomedical subjects

M D Sorin

Publications and source records attributed to M D Sorin.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Correlates of acceptance of HIV testing and post-test counseling in the obstetrical setting.

Recent results of AZT testing among pregnant women by NIH indicate that early diagnosis and medical intervention can reduce vertical transmission of HIV. Debates have been rekindled concerning whether testing should remain voluntary or be made mandatory. This article analyzes predictors of women's decisions to accept testing voluntarily and return for their test results. Although derived from the postpartum setting, this information is also likely to be useful in understanding voluntary acceptance of prenatal HIV testing, as well as acceptance among those who are hard to reach during pregnancy. Results indicate that the time spent counseling each client and the individual HIV counselor were the best predictors of which women were most likely to test. Minority, self-paid, or uninsured clients, and women with little prenatal care were least likely to return for post-test counseling. The findings of this study point to the central importance of the counselor and the counseling process and to the relatively lesser impact of patient characteristics. Further study of counseling content and counselor performance is recommended.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed1995

Harnessing the heightened public awareness of celebrity HIV disclosures: "Magic" and "Cookie" Johnson and HIV testing.

This article investigates the impact NBA basketball star Earvin ("Magic") Johnson's HIV disclosure had on changes in demand for HIV counseling and testing services in New York State's 61 Anonymous HIV Counseling and Testing sites. Interrupted time-series analyses were conducted on weekly data from over 34,000 clients seeking anonymous HIV counseling and testing services from January 1991 to June 1992, to determine whether demand for these services changed as a result of the disclosure. Results indicated that immediately following the HIV disclosure, there was a substantial increase in service demand, which transcended all sex, race, age, and most HIV risk-related boundaries. Seven months later, demand had not returned to pre-disclosure levels. The strong impact on females, coupled with additional data analyses in obstetrical settings, suggests that previous research has been too narrow in focus, and that the effect of Johnson's HIV disclosure has been enhanced, in part, by the publicity surrounding his wife and baby. The importance of harnessing the heightened public awareness of celebrity HIV disclosures is discussed.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A state program for postpartum HIV counseling and testing.

The New York State Department of Health began its Obstetrical HIV Counseling/Testing/Care Initiative in 1989. The objective of the initiative was to expand the availability of and access to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection counseling and voluntary testing in the postpartum setting. Programs have been initiated in 24 hospitals statewide. The initiative emphasizes cooperative arrangements within participating hospitals for referring patients to medical and social services. Participation by hospitals in the initiative is voluntary. Initial grants to hospitals for the initiative ranged from $50,000 to $80,000. The main obstacle in implementing the initiative has been a lack of such resources as administrative or clinical support, phlebotomy services, and office or clinical space. During the period from August 1, 1990, through March 31, 1992, 16,436 women at risk for HIV infection were counseled in the postpartum setting at 24 hospitals participating in the initiative. Of them, 6,754 (41.1 percent) consented to HIV testing. Of the 6,754 tested, 3,000 women (44.5 percent) returned to receive test results and posttest counseling. Counseling and testing activities supported through the initiative identified 196 of 1,227 (16 percent) of the HIV-positive women who gave birth at participating hospitals and 196 of 892 (22 percent) seropositive women not previously identified. Combining testing data from the initiative with other data on seropositivity, the authors estimated that 43.3 percent of HIV-positive women delivering infants at participating hospitals were identified by voluntary testing. Hospital performance in the program varied markedly. Further study is needed to determine how to improve the effectiveness of the effort to identify HIV-positive childbearing women at the less successful hospitals and to enhance the rates of patients returning for posttest counseling and community followup.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A balancing act: the tension between case-finding and primary prevention strategies in New York State's voluntary HIV counseling and testing program in women's health care settings.

This study sought (1) to identify factors that influence women's willingness to accept voluntary HIV counseling and testing at New York State Family Planning Programs (FPPs) and Prenatal Care Assistance Programs (PCAPs) and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of such a voluntary counseling and testing program. Telephone interviews elicited organizational-level data from 136 agencies; a combination of telephone and face-to-face interviews was used to gather provider data from 98 HIV counselors; and client data were gathered from 354 women in face-to-face interviews at counseling sites. Slightly fewer than 60% of women agreed to be counseled, and, of those, under half consented to an HIV test at the counseling site. Approximately two thirds of the women who were tested returned for their results and posttest counseling. Clients' recall of pretest counseling content was relatively poor. Bivariate and regression analyses suggest that client, provider, and organizational factors are all associated with rates of pretest counseling and testing. The current voluntary counseling and testing program is achieving only moderate success. Although a substantial number of clients accept HIV counseling, many women remain reluctant to consent to HIV testing, and many who accept testing do not return for their results. Moreover, among those who receive pretest counseling, many do not recall important informational content, which suggests variation may exist in the quality of counseling or that one-time HIV counseling interventions are insufficient to communicate complex information. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): AIDS, HIV serodiagnosis, women's health, patient education.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗