AIDSCAP/WHO/CAPS
The Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing Efficacy Study
Overview
The Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing (VCT) Efficacy study was a joint effort by WHO, the AIDSCAP Project of Family Health International, and the CAPS at the University of California, San Francisco. The survey was conducted six months after an intervention to compare the prevalence of unprotected sexual intercourse of participants randomized to receive HIV counseling and testing versus participants randomized to receive a health information intervention. In addition to risky sexual behaviors, the survey addresses pregnancy, psychological status, family relationships, and HIV-related discrimination. The survey was administered in three developing country sites: Kenya, Tanzania, and Trinidad.
Methodology/validity
The baseline and six-month follow-up surveys, interviewer and counselor training manuals, and the intervention procedure manual are all available on the CAPS website. At the study sites in Kenya and Tanzania, survey instruments and data collection forms were translated into Kiswahili and then back-translated to English to assure that the English and Kiswahili versions were equivalent. In Trinidad, all surveys were conducted in English. For additional information, please see: http://www.caps.ucsf.edu
Risk and prevention behavior frequently form the core of surveys related to HIV. Behaviors such as sex without condoms and maintaining multiple sex partners place people at risk of HIV, and promoting safer sexual behavior is a key aspect of most
HIV programs. Drug and alcohol use place people at risk either directly, through sharing needles, or indirectly, via inhibited judgment. Partner violence is also increasingly recognized as a factor that leads to increased risk of HIV. Risk of maternal-to-child transmission is influenced by factors such as breast-feeding practices. Risk and prevention behaviors have been separated into five sections, including safer sex and other sexual practices, drug and alcohol use, violence, maternal-to-child transmission, and sex work and trafficking.
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