Social inequality and HIV-testing

Comparing home- and clinic-based testing in rural Malawi

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2636491
AutoresAlexander A Weinreb, Alexander Weinreb (0000-0003-2441-4040, The University of Texas at Austin, autor de correspondencia), G Stecklov (0000-0001-7831-2731, Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Año2009
Volumen21
Páginas627-646
Fecha de publicación2009-10-30
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaDemographic Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1435-9871 • E-ISSN: 2363-7064
EditorialMax Planck Institute for Demographic Research (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.4054/demres.2009.21.21
OpenAlexW2114471398
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas21

The plan to increase HIV testing is a cornerstone of the international health strategy against the HIV/AIDS epidemic, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper highlights a problematic aspect of that plan: the reliance on clinic-rather than homebased testing. First, drawing on DHS data from across Africa, we demonstrate the substantial differences in socio-demographic and economic profiles between those who report having ever had an HIV test, and those who report never having had one. Then, using data from a random household survey in rural Malawi, we show that substituting home-based for clinic-based testing may eliminate this source of inequality between those tested and those not tested. This result, which is stable across modeling frameworks, has important implications for accurately and equitably addressing the counseling and treatment programs that comprise the international health strategy against AIDS, and that promise to shape the future trajectory of the epidemic in Africa and beyond

Cornerstone · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Inequality · Political science · Public economics · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · HIV/AIDS Impact and Responses · Medicine · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Virology