Routine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening for sexually transmitted infection (STI) patients in Cape Town, South Africa

The impact of provider-initiated (opt-out) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing and counselling of sexually transmitted infection (STI) patients in Cape Town, South Africa: a controlled trial

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN93692532

Enrollment

Registered

2009-07-31

Start date

2006-04-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2018-01-15

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Infections and Infestations Unspecified human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] disease

Interventions

Provider-initiated (opt-out) HIV testing and counselling (PITC) provided by STI nurses as compared to the standard voluntary counselling and testing provided by lay counsellors. PITC was implemented f

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Primary health care, public sector clinics 2. Geographical location-one clinic per sub-district in Cape Town 3. Clinics providing STI treatment for more than 30 new STI patients a month 4. Clinics with an average nurse:patient ratio 5. All patients assessed for a new episode of sexually transmitted disease at participating public sector primary care clinics. Male and female, mainly adults of reproductive age, but no age limit to who gets treated at the clinics.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Clinics providing an exclusive STI treatment service (not as part of a general primary health care package) 2. Clinics where other research is being conducted that may influence the outcome

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
1. HIV testing rates of new STI patients for a 6-month period from Jan 2007 to June 2007 2. Number of new STI patients who tested for HIV divided by total number of new STI patients treated	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. The rate of providers offering the HIV test or pre-counselling patients (irrespective of whether they accept the test or not). Number of new STI patients offered the HIV test/counselled divided by the total number of STI patients treated. 2. The rate of patients declining the offer of testing. Number of new STI patients not tested for HIV divided by the total number of new STI patients treated. 3. The variability of outcome measures between the clinics. Statistical comparison of the range of clinic outcomes between the intervention and control groups to check for variance.	—

Measure

Time frame

1. The rate of providers offering the HIV test or pre-counselling patients (irrespective of whether they accept the test or not). Number of new STI patients offered the HIV test/counselled divided by the total number of STI patients treated. 2. The rate of patients declining the offer of testing. Number of new STI patients not tested for HIV divided by the total number of new STI patients treated. 3. The variability of outcome measures between the clinics. Statistical comparison of the range of clinic outcomes between the intervention and control groups to check for variance.

—

Countries

South Africa

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Apr 1, 2026