Routine HIV testing in colposcopy clinics - Liverpool

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Barriers and enablers to routine HIV testing in colposcopy clinics, Liverpool - UK

• IRAS ID

  147893

• Contact name

  Miriam Taegtmeyer

• Contact email

  M.Taegtmeyer@liverpool.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

• Research summary

  HIV is now a manageable infection with medication. Successful treatment depends on identifying the infection at an early stage. However, in the UK about one quarter of people with HIV are unaware of their infection and present at late stages of the disease.
  To ensure that individuals with HIV infection are diagnosed early the British HIV Association Guidelines recommend that HIV testing to be offered to all individuals with certain indicator conditions. Conditions which may occur more commonly in HIV infection. Abnormality of the cells lining the neck of the womb (or “cervix”) is one such condition and HIV testing should be offered routinely. The vast majority of women with abnormal cells of the cervix will not have HIV, but those few who are could be diagnosed and offered life saving treatment early.

  Despite this, few colposcopy services routinely offer HIV testing to patients. This study is designed to understand from the opinions of doctors, nurses and patients; what are the possible barriers and enablers to routine offer of HIV testing to patients attending to colposcopy services in Liverpool.

  Findings from this study may inform practice in colposcopy services.

  The study will be conducted in the colposcopy clinics at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital and the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital. Eligible participants of the study will be service providers (colposcopy doctors and nurses) and patients attending to colposcopy during the study period from May to July, 2014. All participants will be interviewed by the researchers on their opinions on the subject of study.

• REC name

  North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/NW/0133

• Date of REC Opinion

  7 Mar 2014

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion