Model Protocol for HIV Counseling and Testing for County Health
Departments and Registered Testing Programs
This model protocol provides guidelines on performing anonymous and confidential HIV counseling and
testing in accordance with statutory requirements and established public health policy. Florida law
carefully structures the manner in which health care providers may perform HIV tests. The law requires
those who perform HIV tests in county health departments and other registered testing sites to obtain the
informed consent of the test subject, make private counseling available both before and after the test and
confirm positive preliminary results with a supplemental test before informing the test subject of the result.
Per guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, the goal of HIV counseling and testing is to assist
individuals in assessing their risk and understanding their test results and to help them develop a
personalized prevention plan.
Evaluating an individual’s risk for HIV infection and offering HIV testing on a voluntary basis shall be a
routine part of primary health care. Risk assessment should take place without regard to age, religion,
sexual orientation, gender, race/ethnicity, marital status, economic status, social or other cultural factors.
1.
Risk Assessment
Risk assessment involves asking the individual a series of open-ended questions to determine behaviors that may
put them at risk for HIV infection. When conducting the risk assessment, it is important to assure the client that all
information is confidential under Florida law. Questions should be asked in a professional, culturally sensitive, non-
judgmental manner.
The following criteria should be used to help the test subject determine his or her level of risk:
•
Sexual behavior
•
Substance use/abuse
•
Needle sharing
•
Occupational exposure
•
Blood/blood products/transplants
•
Partners at risk for HIV
•
History of sexually transmitted disease(s)
•
Child of woman with HIV/AIDS
•
History of sexual assault/domestic violence
•
Sex for drugs/money
Appropriate referrals should be made based on information obtained in the risk assessment. The Florida Domestic
Violence Hotline (1-800-500-1119) provides information and referrals in English, Spanish and Creole.
2.
Pre-Test Counseling
Pre-test counseling shall include information on:
•
Purpose of the HIV test;
•
Indications for testing (medical indication and/or information obtained from the risk assessment);
Attachment 2
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Operating Procedure 153-31