Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Dec 10, 2024
Open Peer Review Period: Dec 9, 2024 - Feb 3, 2025
Date Accepted: Aug 6, 2025
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Perceptions, barriers, and facilitators of provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling (PITC), and HIV voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) among healthcare workers in China: protocol for a multicentre cross-sectional study
ABSTRACT
Background:
HIV testing and counselling interventions have been pivotal in efforts to curb the HIV epidemic, with diverse delivery models. Existing studies on the effective implementation of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and provider-initiated testing and counselling (PITC) focus on individual insights, and the essential role of healthcare workers has received insufficient attention.
Objective:
This protocol describes a study design on current perceptions, barriers, and facilitators related to PITC and VCT among healthcare workers in China.
Methods:
We present the protocol for a multicentre observational study called Provider-initiated Views on PITC and VCT Study (PIVOT Study) to assess the perceptions, barriers, and facilitators of PITC and VCT from the perspective of healthcare workers. Eligible participants are healthcare workers across various healthcare service institutions in Guangdong Province, including hospitals, VCT clinics, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and community health centres. A convenience sampling method is used in the PIVOT Study. Data collection will be conducted via a digital questionnaire encompassing five key components: sociodemographic information, general health status, psychosocial characteristics, knowledge related to the implementation of VCT/PITC, and experiential insights regarding these services.
Results:
Descriptive statistics will characterize the distribution of variables, while multivariable logistic regression models will be employed to assess the associations between independent variables and outcome variables. Secondary analyses will explore differences based on age, years of experience in healthcare, sex, type of healthcare institution, and geographic location. Approximately 400 healthcare workers will be recruited for the PIVOT Study.
Conclusions:
PIVOT study could offer an essential perspective, aiming to assess healthcare workers' perceptions of PITC and VCT and to identify barriers and facilitators impacting these initiatives from the viewpoint of these professionals. The findings of the PIVOT study could provide a solid foundation for optimizing resource allocation in HIV testing and counselling interventions across various contexts.
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Copyright
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