Opportunities for HIV testing are being missed in both the primary care and hospital setting. The aim of this project is to increase HIV testing by medical specialists and general practitioners (GPs), reducing ongoing HIV transmission.
Amsterdam has set the ambitious goal to reach zero new HIV infections by 2026. To attain this goal, the proportion of people living with HIV (PLHIV) who remain undiagnosed must be reduced. Currently, the majority of new diagnoses are made in a late stage of infection, and opportunities for timely diagnosis and treatment are being missed in both the primary care and hospital setting. Implementation of additional strategies to improve proactive testing in these settings, such as testing for HIV in the presence of an HIV indicator condition (IC), is needed.
In PROTEST 2.0, we developed multifaceted educational interventions to optimize HIV testing in both the hospital and primary care setting. All Amsterdam GPs and relevant specialists from five hospitals in the Amsterdam region were invited to participate. For GPs, educational sessions are organised to improve HIV testing in patients at high HIV acquisition risk and those diagnosed with an IC.
For specialists, the focus lies on improving HIV testing in patients diagnosed with the following ICs: tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, cervical cancer, vulvar cancer, malignant lymphoma and peripheral neuropathy. Evidence-based elements for effective implementation, such as the use of graphical audit and feedback, follow-up sessions and newsletters, and peer-involvement are used in both designs.
Improving HIV testing in these settings will not only improve the disease burden and health outcomes for individual undiagnosed PLHIV, but also contribute to the reduction of onward transmission of HIV and ultimately reach zero new HIV infections and eliminate the HIV epidemic.
Contact information
Saskia Bogers: s.j.bogers@amsterdamumc.nl
Prof.dr. Suzanne Geerlings: s.e.geerlings@amsterdamumc.nl
Researchers involved
Project group: S.J. Bogers1, M.F. Schim van der Loeff1;2, S.E. Geerlings1 and J.E.A.M van Bergen3;4
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, location Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Department of General Practice, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, location Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- STI AIDS Netherlands, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
This project is part of the H-TEAM initiative:
H-TEAM Steering Committee: J.E.A.M. van Bergen4;5;6, G.J. de Bree1;2, P. Brokx8, F. Deug6, M. Heidenrijk1, M. Prins3;2, P. Reiss1;7 (chair) and M. van der Valk2
H-TEAM Core Project Group: J.E.A.M. van Bergen4;5;6, G.J. de Bree1;2 (chair), P. Brokx8, U. Davidovich3, S.E. Geerlings2, E. Hoornenborg3, A. Oomen6, A. van Sighem7 and W. Zuilhof6.
- Department of Global Health, Amsterdam UMC-AMC, and Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam UMC-AMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Public Health Service of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of General Practice, Amsterdam UMC-AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, the Netherlands
- Soa Aids Nederland, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Stichting HIV Monitoring, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Dutch Association of PLHIV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands