Reasons for Seeking Hiv-Test: Evidence from a Private Hospital in Rural Andhra Pradesh, India (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION An important area of focus for HIV-prevention and care services in India is effective outreach and service provision to its rural population. Over 75% of over one billion people of India live in rural areas (1). In a national HIV surveillance, the prevalence of HIV among women attending rural antenatal clinics was 0.57% compared to 0.64% in urban clinics; however, the prevalence of HIV was higher in some southern states than in rural areas. Rural residents have lesser information relating to HIV than their urban counterparts (2) and have poorer availability and access to general health services (3). Further, the quality of HIV services in rural areas is often characterized by unqualified physicians (4,5), medical practitioners refusing to care for HIV/AIDS, and poor adherence to confidentiality and other HIV-testing principles that safeguard rights of individuals and nurture trust with providers (6).