Promoting HIV Testing by Men in Uganda: Aligning Policy and Preferences Public Deposited
- Last Modified
- March 20, 2019
- Creator
-
Schaffer, Elisabeth
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management
- Abstract
- Background: Men in sub-Saharan Africa are less likely than women to test for HIV. The gap in male testing coverage leads to increased morbidity and mortality for HIV-positive men compared to HIV-positive women and to missed opportunities to prevent transmission. One approach that has demonstrated potential to increase male testing is community-based testing. Objective: The objective of this dissertation was to provide evidence-based guidance to optimize the delivery of community-based HIV testing to promote uptake by men in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: I administered a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to a random sample of 203 adult male residents of rural Uganda. The DCE elicited stated preferences for attributes of community-based testing that can be modified to promote testing. I used a random parameters logit model to estimate preferences and simulate uptake under alternative service delivery models. I estimated additional random utility models and conducted covariate analyses to investigate preference heterogeneity. I incorporated predictions of testing uptake into a decision analytic model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of alternative service delivery models to increase HIV testing and diagnosis. Key Findings: Participants stated strong preferences for access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) at the time of testing. The predicted uptake of testing under alternative service delivery models increased 26-44 percentage points when immediate access to ART for HIV-positive persons was provided. Incentives of US $0.85 also influenced participants’ choices and increased the predicted testing uptake 6-12 percentage points. It was unclear whether preference heterogeneity could be attributed to participants’ characteristics. The most cost-effective service delivery models to increase HIV testing were not necessarily most cost-effective at increasing diagnosis. Changes of only a few percentage points in the probability that men who access a given service delivery model would test positive greatly increased the likelihood that the service delivery model was cost-effective at increasing diagnosis. Conclusion: The stated preference methods used in this dissertation reveal opportunities to improve community-based HIV testing to encourage uptake by men. Further research is warranted to corroborate the external validity of stated preferences to predict revealed preferences and to determine how community-based service delivery models can effectively reach undiagnosed HIV-positive men.
- Date of publication
- August 2018
- Keyword
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Advisor
- Gonzalez, Juan Marcos
- Stearns, Sally
- Thirumurthy, Harsha
- Wheeler, Stephanie
- Chamie, Gabriel
- Degree
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Graduate School
- Graduation year
- 2018
- Language
- Parents:
This work has no parents.
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