3 research outputs found
Breaking HIV News to Clients: SPIKES Strategy in Post-Test Counseling Session
No full textBreaking bad news is one of the most burdensome tasks physicians face in their everyday practice. It becomes even more challenging in the context of HIV+ patients because of stigma and discrimination. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the quality of giving HIV seroconversion news according to SPIKES protocol. Numbers of 154 consecutive HIV+ patients from Imam Khomeini Hospital testing and counseling center were enrolled in this study. Patients were inquired about how they were given the HIV news and whether or not they received pre- and post-test counseling sessions. Around 51% of them were men, 80% had high school education, and 56% were employed. Regarding marital status, 32% were single, and 52% were married at the time of the interview. Among them, 31% had received the HIV news in a counseling center, and only 29% had pre-test counseling. SPIKES criteria were significantly met when the HIV news was given in an HIV counseling and testing center (P.value<0.05). Low coverage of HIV counseling services was observed in the study. SPIKES criteria were significantly met when the HIV seroconversion news was given in a counseling center. The need to further train staff to deliver HIV news seems a priority in the field of HIV care and treatment
Molecular analysis and phylogenetic characterization of HIV in Iran
No full textThe rate of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in Iran has increased dramatically in the last few years. While the earliest cases were found in hemophiliacs, intravenous drug users are now fueling the outbreak. In this study, both the 122 clones of HIV-1 gag p17 and the 131 clones of env V1-V5 region were obtained from 61 HIV-1 seropositives belonging to these two groups in Iran. HIV-1 subtyping and phylogenetic analysis was done by heteroduplex mobility assays (HMA) and multiple clone sequencing. The result indicated all hemophiliacs are infected with HIV-1 subtype B and all intravenous drug users are infected with HIV-1 subtype A. Since intravenous drug abuse is the major transmission route in Iran, HIV-1 subtype A is likely to be the dominant viral subtype circulating in the country. The analysis of genetic distances showed subtype B viruses in Iran to be twice as heterogeneous as the subtype A viruses. In conclusion, this first molecular study of HIV-1 genotypes in Iran suggests two parallel outbreaks in distinct high-risk populations and may offer clues to the origin and spread of infection in Iran
An Estimation of HIV/AIDS’s Cost in the Voluntary Counseling and Testing Center of Imam Khomeini Hospital in 2010-2011
Get PDFIntroduction: Undoubtedly, HIV/AIDS is one of the most important emerging infectious disease in the late twentieth century; and its control is possible only with proper and organized program. To attain this goal, one of the most serious issues is the budget planning and distribution. The present study calculated the total costs of AIDS in Voluntary Counseling and Testing center of Imam Khomeini Hospital in 2010-2011.Methods: The total cost of AIDS at this center was divided into four categories: health care, training and educating, research and services. All costs for 2010-2011 were extracted and classified based on documents and bills which were found in the center.Results: According to the calculations, the center had a total of 6,603,479,058 IRR in 2010-2011, of which 49.5% (3,271,089,796 IRR) was allocated for health care expenditure, 20.3% (1,335,186,000 IRR) for research, 12.6% (834,000,000 IRR) for training and 17.6% (1,163,203,262 IRR) for services. The average expense for each person living with HIV was 2276 US dollars. The cost of treatment by drugs for each person eligible for treatment was 782 US dollars.Conclusion: The percentage of budget distribution in the center is equal to the same percentage in low and middle income countries; although, more percentage is allocated for research than the mentioned countries. Also, the expenditure spent for treatment by drugs is more than the average of the same found in low and middle income countries. Overall, the budget distribution in this center is almost in accordance with the international standards
