Missed Opportunities in HIV Testing in Turkiye: Implications for Late Diagnoses.

BACKGROUND: Late diagnosis of HIV infection is a major global problem. In Turkiye, only 41%-50% of people living with HIV are diagnosed, suggesting that many opportunities for HIV testing might be missed. SETTING: The aim of this study was to determine the missed testing opportunities for HIV in healthcare settings in Turkiye and the predictors for missed opportunities (MOs). METHODS: The study included patients with a new HIV diagnosis, presenting to care between January 2018 and December 2020. They were given a verbal questionnaire face to face, by a telephone call or an online meeting for visits to a health care setting within the year before their diagnosis. Electronic medical records were also examined. RESULTS: The sample included 198 patients with at least 1 visit to any health care setting, with a total of 1677 visits. Patients had an indication for HIV testing in 51.3% (861/1677) of the visits; an HIV test was not offered in 77.9% (671/861) and was considered a MO. The highest number of MOs was in emergency departments (59.8%) (180/301). The most common reason for visiting was constitutional symptoms and indicator conditions (55.4%) (929/1677). University graduates and those with a CD4+ T-cell count <200/mm 3 were more likely to have a MO. CONCLUSIONS: Many opportunities to diagnose HIV at an early stage are missed in health care settings in Turkiye. Considering the rapidly increasing number of new diagnoses in the last decade, urgent action needs to be taken.

"Oh no, they caught it!": Vicarious experience of COVID-19, protection motivation and protective behaviors.

Utilizing the components of the protection motivation theory, this study investigated the role of close others' diagnosis of COVID-19 (as a vicarious experience) in individuals' adherence to protective behavior against COVID-19. Path analysis of online survey data from 3695 participants showed that the presence of a diagnosed close other was positively related to perceived vulnerability, while being negatively related to perceived response efficacy and self-efficacy. In addition, perceived severity and efficacy appraisals were positively associated with protective behavioral tendencies. Although efficacy appraisal mediated the relationship between vicarious experience and protective behavior, threat appraisal did not mediate this relationship. In sum, the results suggest that efficacy appraisal derived from vicarious experiences can be more consequential for protective behaviors than threat appraisal. Implications of these results on future large-scale health crises are discussed along with limitations and future directions.