Document Type
Article
Article Version
Publisher's PDF
Publication Date
8-2-2024
Abstract
HIV point of care testing (POCT) is a common approach to expanding testing into non-specialised settings. Dental services have untapped potential to screen for health conditions including HIV. However, the perspectives of UK dental patients, dental professionals, and people with HIV are unknown. Ten focus groups were undertaken with dental patients, professionals, and people with HIV. The Framework method was used to analyse the qualitative data. Six themes were generated from the focus group data. The themes explored perceptions of HIV, the purpose, appropriateness, and acceptability of HIV testing in dental settings, and new processes that would need to be established in order to successfully implement point of care HIV testing in UK dental settings. Training needs were identified including communication skills and updates to current knowledge about HIV. HIV testing in dental settings is generally acceptable to dental patients, dental professionals, and PWH. However, of concern were logistical challenges and the risk of patients surprised at being offered an HIV test during a visit to the dentist. Nonetheless, the public health benefits of the intervention were well understood, i.e., early detection of HIV and initiation of treatment to improve health outcomes. Dental teams were able to generate novel solutions that could help to overcome contextual and logistical challenges to implementing HIV testing in dental settings.
Publication Title
Dentistry Journal
Repository Citation
Yazdi-Doughty, Janine; Santella, Anthony J.; Porter, Stephen; Watt, Richard G.; and Burns, Fiona, "Exploring the Acceptability of HIV Testing in the UK Dental Setting: A Qualitative Study" (2024). Nursing and Health Studies Faculty Publications. 275.
https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/nursing-facultypubs/275
Published Citation
Yazdi-Doughty J, Santella AJ, Porter S, Watt RG, Burns F. Exploring the Acceptability of HIV Testing in the UK Dental Setting: A Qualitative Study. Dentistry Journal. 2024; 12(8):246. https://doi.org/10.3390/dj12080246
DOI
10.3390/dj12080246
Peer Reviewed
Comments
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).