Module 1: What Is HIV Test Counseling? Why Is It Important?
Module 1: What Is HIV Test Counseling? Why Is It Important? Screen 8 of 12
Information Isn’t Enough to
Stop the Spread of HIV
Once it was clear how HIV was and was not transmitted, there was a huge sigh of relief among medical workers, AIDS activists, and in the communities most affected by the disease. All people needed to do, it seemed, was use condoms and stop sharing needles, and the epidemic would halt.
But changing sexual and social behavior is very, very difficult. Many of the communities most at risk for HIV transmission have long histories of oppression and discrimination that make self-care especially challenging. And when the HIV test was first available, there weren’t any of the successful treatments for HIV and AIDS-related complications that exist now. Deciding to test for HIV status was often a difficult choice to make.
In response, AIDS activists and health care workers created an approach to HIV test counseling that combined the medical test with supportive, nonjudgmental counseling about HIV transmission and prevention, as well as about the test itself.
Information Isn’t Enough to
Stop the Spread of HIV
Once it was clear how HIV was and was not transmitted, there was a huge sigh of relief among medical workers, AIDS activists, and in the communities most affected by the disease. All people needed to do, it seemed, was use condoms and stop sharing needles, and the epidemic would halt.
But changing sexual and social behavior is very, very difficult. Many of the communities most at risk for HIV transmission have long histories of oppression and discrimination that make self-care especially challenging. And when the HIV test was first available, there weren’t any of the successful treatments for HIV and AIDS-related complications that exist now. Deciding to test for HIV status was often a difficult choice to make.In response, AIDS activists and health care workers created an approach to HIV test counseling that combined the medical test with supportive, nonjudgmental counseling about HIV transmission and prevention, as well as about the test itself.