Impacts of an HIV counseling and testing initiative -- results from an experimental intervention in a large firm in South Africa

We have run experimental interventions to promote HIV tests in a large firm in South Africa. We combined HIV tests with existing medical check programs to increase the uptake. In the foregoing survey we undertook previously, it was suggested that fears and stigma of HIV/AIDS were the primary reasons given by the employees for not taking the test. To counter these, we implemented randomized interventions. We find substantial heterogeneity in responses by ethnicity. Africans and Colored rejected the tests most often. Supportive information increased the uptake by 6 to 16% points. A tradeoff in targeting resulting in stigmatizing the targeted and a reduction of exclusion error is discussed

Impacts of an HIV Counselling and Testing Initiative: Results from an Experimental Intervention in South Africa

We have run experimental interventions to promote HIV tests in a large firm in South Africa. We combined HIV tests with existing medical check programs (MSP and HCT) to increase the uptake. We have implemented three interventions intended to reduce fears and stigma for HIV tests: opt out, risk assessment, supportive information. Opt out asks subjects to opt out the test if one does not to take one. Risk assessment involves nurses to give immediate feedback on the set of questions on risky behavior. Under supportive information, subjects are shown five minute DVD to encourage testing. Uptake rate increased dramatically, but not only under experimental arms but also under the control arm. We find substantial heterogeneity in responses by ethnicity. In particular, supportive information increased the uptake of Whites-Others by almost 100% at the margin. Generally, experimental arms were ineffective in increasing the uptake of Africans and Colored. This general ineffectiveness against Africans and Colored is common among both MSP and HCT samples whose educational and household background differ significantly. We thus conjecture that factors related to their ethnic background to be the possible deterrents to tests

Surveillance and risk assessment of health screening for vaccine-preventable diseases among international students in Japan: A cross-sectional study in 2020

We conducted a cross-sectional study using a structured questionnaire in three major Japanese cities from August 03 to 24, 2020 to clarify the current situation of health checkups, including vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs), among international students at Japanese universities (JUs) and Japanese language schools (JLSs). The total response rate was 36%: 69 JUs (31%) and 137 JLSs (39%). Over 90% of these institutions conducted chest X-ray screening for tuberculosis among their students, whereas only 24.6% of JUs and 15.3% of JLSs performed general blood tests for health screening. Only 14.5% and 2.2% of the JUs and JLSs, respectively, required the submission of vaccination or antibody certificates for admission. The difficulties in requesting vaccination certificates from international students are due to poor legal requirements and concerns about rising costs for schools. From 2017 to 2019, 183 international students, principally from East Asia and Southeast Asia, were infected with VPDs, particularly tuberculosis (99 cases) and varicella (71 cases). Whereas the majority of Japanese educational institutions screen international students for tuberculosis (TB) at admission, only a few institutions request proof of antibody testing relating to other VPDs or of vaccination. These findings will help formulate guidelines for checkups related to vaccination for international students required to protect the educational institutions in Japan from the spread of VPDs. In addition, providing multifaceted social support, including financial compensation for institutions and enhanced international students’ health issues, would be helpful