The link between sexually transmitted disease clinics and HIV counseling and testing centers: who is not getting referred?

A total of 236 clients attending human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) counseling and testing (C&T) centers and sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics were interviewed to evaluate who is being reached by C&T services and if STD clients are being referred to HIV C&T centers. Respondents receiving HIV C&T reported significantly more sexual risk based on characteristics of their partners, whereas STD clinics respondents more frequently reported previous STD diagnoses and sex with prostitutes. Over 50% of the high-risk individuals attending STD clinics were not referred to HIV C&T centers. The differences in perceived risk of current and future infection between STD and HIV C&T centers and the low referral rates of high-risk individuals for HIV C&T indicate a need for increased education efforts, more effective risk-assessment policies in STD clinics, and a tightening of the link between STD clinics and HIV C&T centers.