Importance of Counseling and Re-counseling in HIV testing:

HIV/AIDS counselling is a process that begins with the client's first contact either with an
HIV/AIDS counselling service or with the care system for HIV-related needs and these include
governmental and npn-governmental health and social service facilities. These include:
o Community health centers
o rural health clinics
o basic health units, hospitals
o STD clinics
o Mother and child health clinics
o Reproductive health clinics
o blood donation sites
o antenatal and post- partum clinics
o schools,
o Mosques, Churches and Temples
o outpatient clinics
o And all health outreach and community based programs.

The main goal is to:

o Provide psychological support to individuals infected with HIV
o To prevent HIV and its transmission

The major elements of HIV Counseling for HIV/AIDS:

o The establishment of sensitive, trusting and respectful relationships
o A structured approach to ensure the client has adequate knowledge for problem-solving
and decision making in pre and post-test counselling.
Overall importance/purpose of counseling is:
o To assist people to make informed decisions, cope better with their condition, lead more
positive lives, acquire knowledge pertaining to testing and prevent HIV transmission or
control of infection through means like protected or safer sex, and changes to drug
injecting practices
o To help the infected individual and their family and friends cope with the possible
emotional strains (grief, anger, fear, rejection, discrimination) and all other social and
physiological problems that are likely to be experienced
o To assess the risk of HIV infection in potential blood and organ donors.

Persons eligible for Counseling are:

o People who are worried about their
o HIV status, and request testing for
o HIV (pre-test, and post test
 o counselling);
o Those having HIV/AIDS in their families
o People experiencing difficulties with issues such as stigma, isolation, financial hardships,
as a result of HIV infection;
o Those seeking help because of past or current risk behaviors
o Those wishing to donate blood or body organs
HIV pre-test counselling checklist:
o Emphasize confidentiality
o Explore reasons for testing
o Explore risk history:
1. Unsafe sex – self and of partner
2. Injecting drug use – self and of partner
3. Blood/blood products/transplants received
4. Possibly non-sterile procedures like tattooing, injections, scarification, and
circumcision
o Explore the significance of the “Window period” and the time elapsed since last risk
exposure
o Explore and clarify HIV/AIDS knowledge
o Explore HIV test understanding and implications:
1. Marriage
2. Pregnancy
3. Relationships (eg. Does the partner know about the testing?)
4. Work
5. Stigma
6. Finance
7. Emotional coping
8. Social support available
o Explore and clarify knowledge about the test and testing procedures
o Discuss who should know the result if positive, and how they might be told
o Assess strategies for coping in the shorter and longer term
o Previous experience in managing health and other personal crises
o Discuss future prevention like safe sex and condom use, clean needle use and options for
managing risk situations
o Discuss the value of testing

References:
1. Dr.Saeed A. Counseling for HIV/AIDS. The National Guidelines, August 2001.Retrieved
March 11, 2018 at 10:30 am from:
http://www.nacp.gov.pk/library/reports/Advocacy%20&
%20Communication/COUNSELING%20FOR%20HIV-AIDS%20-The%20National
%20Guidelines.pdf