The role of private health providers in HIV testing: analysis of data from 18 countries

International Journal for Equity in Health

Xi Cheng²  Doug Johnson¹ 

[1] International Health Division, Abt Associates Inc., 4550 Montgomery Ave #800N, Bethesda, MD, USA;Department of Health Services Policy and Management, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 915 Greene Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA

关键词: Private health sector;    HIV/AIDS;    HTC;   

Others  :  802450
DOI  :  10.1186/1475-9276-13-36

 received in 2014-01-03, accepted in 2014-04-28,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Introduction

HIV testing and counseling is a critical component of the overall response to the HIV epidemic in low and middle income countries. To date, little attention has been paid to the role of private for-profit providers in HIV testing.

Methods

We use data from Demographic and Health Surveys and AIDS Indicators Surveys to explore the extent to which this sector provides HIV testing in 18 developing countries.

Results

We find that use of the private sector for HIV testing varies significantly by country, with private for-profit providers playing a significant role in some countries and a relatively minor one in others. At the country level, use of private providers for HIV testing is correlated with use of private providers for other health services yet, in many countries, significant differences between use of the private sector for HIV testing and other services exist. Within countries, we find that wealth is strongly associated with use of the private sector for HIV testing in most countries, but the relative socio-economic profile of clients who receive an HIV test from a private provider varies considerably across countries. On the one measure of quality to which we have access, reported adherence to antenatal care testing guidelines, there are no statistically significant differences in performance between public and private for-profit providers in most countries after controlling for wealth.

Conclusions

These results suggest that strategies for supervising and engaging private health providers with regard to HIV testing should be country specific and take into account local context.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Johnson and Cheng; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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