Why is vct important

This force was subsequently strengthened, first by the construction The focus of the study is comparing the growth and development of those parts of cities located in traditional authority One of the ways Search SUNScholar. This Collection. For seropositive women Women who are offered VCT during the antenatal period and test seropositive before they become symptomatic may be able to have earlier access to appropriate health care, including preventive therapies and emotional and social support.

Women with symptomatic HIV disease can be referred for appropriate treatment of HIV-related illnesses and for home based care and social support from community organisations where available. With VCT services in place, women who test seropositive in early pregnancy can make decisions about pregnancy and therefore have the option of terminating the pregnancy if they choose and if abortion services are available and safe.

For women who choose to continue with their pregnancy, better care during the antenatal period, delivery and postnatal period can be provided, including the various MTCT interventions which are available today. Screening and treatment of STIs including syphilis should be offered. It is known that there is a significant risk of HIV transmission from breast-feeding. If VCT is offered to women attending antenatal care, the opportunity should be explored to offer it to partners.

Therefore, if both partners were counselled separately or together , transmission of HIV infection could be reduced. This applies to seronegative women with seropositive partners and vice versa 3. Women who know their HIV status are in a better position to make decisions about having further children following the current pregnancy and to plan for the future care of their dependants 3.

Stigma, and as a result of this, denial and rejection, are major barriers to HIV prevention activities. People are rarely open about their HIV status if they are seropositive and the vast majority of people have not been tested, although many are fearful that they may be infected 4. After excluding studies failing to meet the inclusion criteria, 19 were deemed eligible for inclusion.

Of these studies, two presented duplicate data and were removed. The remaining 17 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis and 8 studies were meta-analyzed. When stratified by serostatus, these results only remained significant for those who tested HIV-positive. Authors' conclusions:. Search strategy:.

Selection criteria:. Data collection and analysis:.