(Although reported HIV prevalence in China is relatively low for a developing country, the consistent and significant increase in reported HIV infections and HIV prevalence among high-risk women demonstrates that unless contained quickly, the potential medical and social consequences of the epidemic's spread in that country are daunting. Sexual transmission of HIV appears to be largely driven by high-risk heterosexual contact. Since antiretroviral therapy now available in China at little or no cost, -a critical component of the battle against HIV will be an effective outreach aimed at identifying those who are infected and helping them handle their disease, especially among high-risk populations. Voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT) is internationally recognized as an effective, important strategy for both prevention and care and as a valuable component of comprehensive HIV/AIDS programming, therefore, high-risk populations are an important target for VCT. The proposed study will achieve the following specific aims: To qualitatively explore factors influencing utilization of VCT among women at high risk in Jinan City. To develop and implement a VCT program among women at high risk in Jinan City. To quantify the qualitative findings from Aim 1 and define differences between HIV """"""""testers"""""""" and """"""""nontesters"""""""" in the VCT program. Our VCT clinic will be set up in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, which has high rates of STDs and women at high risk in the heterosexual population, plus the PI has successfully collaborated with the Shandong Institute for Dermatology and STD Prevention and Care in previous HIV-related work in the region. The VCT program will use rapid testing technology that is newly available in China. It will be based on successful international models and informed by qualitative research conducted at the beginning of this project. We will attempt to recruit a total of 1,050 women at high risk in Jinan City to visit our VCT clinic through administration of a field survey in order to maximize HIV testing in this target population. Findings from this pilot study will be used to develop a larger VCT program tailored to the needs of women at high risk in China and inform future national policy. A future R01 will be submitted to look at the effectiveness of VCT in reducing high risk behaviors, such as an increase in condom use, and increasing the number of HIV infections averted. In order to .guarantee the scientific merit of the proposed research, the qualitative and quantitative components will both be guided by a modified Theory of Reasoned Action and the Socioecological Model, and sample size calculations and random sampling will be also applied to the field survey in Aim 3. ? ? ?
| Wang, Ying; Li, Bing; Pan, Jingbin et al. (2011) Factors associated with utilization of a free HIV VCT clinic by female sex workers in Jinan City, Northern China. AIDS Behav 15:702-10 |
| Wang, Ying; Pan, Jing-Bin; Wang, Xiao-Fang et al. (2010) Reported willingness and associated factors related to utilization of voluntary counseling and testing services by female sex workers in Shandong Province, China. Biomed Environ Sci 23:466-72 |
| Wang, Ying; Li, Bing; Zheng, Jianhong et al. (2009) Factors related to female sex workers' willingness to utilize VCT service: a qualitative study in Jinan city, northern China. AIDS Behav 13:866-72 |
