Although knowing one's HIV status is a necessary
step in initiating antiretroviral treatment, more than a quarter
of Burkinabe who are HIV-positive do not know their status.
To reach the target of screening at least 95% of people living
with HIV (PLHIV), the country has opted for HIV index
testing (screening of sexual partners, children and partners of
intravenous drug users). This study assessed the knowledge,
attitudes and practices of health workers on HIV index testing.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among health workers
on index testing pilot sites in Burkina Faso. We constructed
scores of health workers' knowledge, attitudes and practices
regarding HIV index testing. A total of 132 health workers
were surveyed, 62.8% of whom were female. Regarding
profiles, 44.7% of the participants were nurses and 5.3% were
midwives; physicians and psychosocial counselors accounted
for 16.7 and 33.3%, respectively. Most of the participants
worked in public health centers (60.6%). Overall, the majority
of the participants had poor or average knowledge (85.6%) of
the index testing strategy and harmful or inadequate practices
(87.1%). Less than half (40.9%) had favorable attitudes toward
the strategy. Our study showed that the knowledge of health
workers was generally average, their attitudes were not very
favorable and their practices were mostly inadequate with
regard to HIV index testing. In order to increase the chances
of reaching the first 95% of UNAIDS, trainings on the topic
must be designed for health workers.

knowledge attitudes practices HIV index testing Burkina Faso