title: Job Perception of Counselors Employed at Integrated Counseling and Testing Centers for HIV in a District of South India.
abstract: The counselors' form the backbone of HIV/AIDS control program, and for voluntary counseling and testing services to be effective counselors' opinions are crucial.
  
  
  
  To assess the perceptions of integrated counseling and testing center (ICTC) counselors with respect to the training received, problems faced in providing services, and job satisfaction.
  
  
  
  Qualitative methods such as 1 focus group discussion and 7 in-depth interviews were conducted among 14 counselors employed at 13 ICTCs in a costal district of south India.
  
  
  
  The counselors identified the need for improving refresher training; job perception and satisfaction among counselors was found to be poor; issues such as shared confidentiality and targets for counseling were perceived to affect the ICTC services.
  
  
  
  The issues identified by counselors such as problems related to refresher training, targets set for counseling and testing, the pay scale and shared confidentiality should be addressed for better service delivery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Mangalore, India mohan.papanna@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mohan K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Papanna
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Mangalore, India.
authors.forename: Pawan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Mangalore, India.
authors.forename: Avinash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shetty
authors.affiliation: Chennai Medical College hospital and Research Centre, Department of Community Medicine, Trichy, India.
authors.forename: Karthikayan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kulothungan
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Mangalore, India.
authors.forename: Indira B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Poojary
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, India.
authors.forename: Kirthinath
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ballala
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003376:Counseling; D000072117:Counselors / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D057545:Social Stigma; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: counselors perception; integrated counseling and testing centers