Promotion and Persistence of HIV Testing and HIV/AIDS Knowledge: Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial in Ethiopia.
We use data from a randomized controlled trial in Ethiopia and examine the causal effects of HIV/AIDS education, home-based voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT), and conditional cash transfers (CCT) for facility-based VCT on HIV/AIDS knowledge and demand for HIV testing. HIV/AIDS education significantly increases HIV/AIDS knowledge but has a limited effect on testing take-up. However, when HIV/AIDS education is combined with either home-based VCT or CCT for facility-based VCT, take-up increases substantially by about 63 and 57 percentage points, respectively. We also demonstrate evidence of persistence in test-taking behavior, where past HIV testing does not dampen demand for testing. Lastly, we find suggestive evidence that home-based VCT could be more effective at detecting HIV-positive cases relative to CCT for facility-based VCT. Our findings highlight the importance of geographic accessibility in the testing decision and persistence in demand for HIV testing. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Hyuncheol Bryant
HB
Kim
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, D.C., USA.
Beliyou
B
Haile
College of Nursing, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
Taewha
T
Lee
D000328:Adult; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D005002:Ethiopia; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening
HIV testing; HIV/AIDS knowledge; conditional cash transfer; home-based voluntary HIV counseling and testing; persistence