What does the counselor tell a client who has a reactive rapid HIV test?
One of the more challenging counseling issues is how to communicate reactive rapid HIV test results to clients without the benefit of a same-day confirmatory test result. Counselors should be able to discuss with the client the likelihood of whether the rapid HIV test result means the client has HIV infection. This discussion should be based on the prevalence of HIV among persons tested at that clinic coupled with an assessment of the client’s risk behaviors. In clinics that usually experience a high prevalence of HIV infection among their clients, a reactive rapid HIV test result is more likely to represent a true infection, especially in persons who report risk behaviors for HIV. Any person whose rapid HIV test is reactive should be counseled about the need to take precautions to prevent any possibility of transmitting HIV infection until their infection status has been determined by a confirmatory HIV test.
