Voluntary counselling and testing points (VCTs) in Poland as a complementary and accessible alternative to public healthcare facilities: A comparative analysis of epidemiological data from the VCTs and the National Institute of Public Health NIH-National Research Institute (2015-2022).

Objective: Voluntary counselling and testing points (VCTs) offer anonymous and free HIV tests in Poland. They also play an essential role in educational initiatives focused on the prevention and diagnosis of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. However, no comprehensive data is available that summarizes the results of the work carried out by these VCTs.

National medical specialty guidelines of HIV indicator conditions in Europe lack adequate HIV testing recommendations: a systematic guideline review.

BackgroundAdequate identification and testing of people at risk for HIV is fundamental for the HIV care continuum. A key strategy to improve timely testing is HIV indicator condition (IC) guided testing.AimTo evaluate the uptake of HIV testing recommendations in HIV IC-specific guidelines in European countries.

Psychosocial contexts of the HIV epidemic in Poland.

The article is an attempt to collect and describe non-medical aspects of the HIV epidemic in Poland in 2023, aspects that often elude epidemiology and treatment specialists. However, they are crucial to public health and, as such, require a presence in the discourse on the broader issue of the HIV epidemic in our country.

Self-testing for HIV among partners of newly diagnosed HIV persons - the pilot program of Test and Keep in Care (TAK) project.

Objective: The objective of this study is to conduct a pilot program for self-testing for HIV during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The target population was the partners of newly diagnosed HIV persons. The premise of the program was to offer such partners a test that they could perform in the conditions, at the time, and with the assistance of persons they themselves selected.

Increasing integrated testing in community settings through interventions for change, including the Spring European Testing Week.

Background: Maximising access to testing by targeting more than one infection is effective in identifying new infections in settings or populations. Within the EU funded Joint Action INTEGRATE, this paper examined the feasibility and impact of expanding integrated testing for HIV, hepatitis C (HCV), chlamydia, gonorrhoea and/or syphilis in four community-based pilots through targeted interventions in Croatia, Italy and Poland and the Spring European Testing Week since community settings are key in detecting new infections and reaching key populations.

Methods: Pilots led by local INTEGRATE partners prioritised testing for other infections or key populations.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and late presentation in Poland - data from Test and Keep in Care (TAK) Polska project.

Objectives: Late presentation (LP) at HIV diagnosis is associated with worse prognosis and an increase in the number of new infections. We analyse the proportion of patients diagnosed late and factors related to LP in Poland in 2016-2017.

Methods: Data were obtained from 13 out of 17 HIV centres in Poland from 2016 and 2017, including date of diagnosis, age, sex, transmission route, anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV), Venereal Diseases Research Laboratory (VDRL) antibodies, AIDS diagnosis, baseline HIV viral load and CD4 count.

Modelling the cost-effectiveness of HIV care shows a clear benefit when transmission risk is considered in the calculations - A message for Central and Eastern Europe.

Background: HIV epidemic remains a major global health issue. Data from cost-effectiveness analyses base on CD4+ count and morbidity in patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic HIV infection. The approach adopted in these analyses includes many other factors, previously not investigated.

Poor Linkage to Care Despite Significant Improvement in Access to Early cART in Central Poland - Data from Test and Keep in Care (TAK) Project.

Background: The main objective of the TAK project is investigating barriers in accessing HIV care after HIV-diagnosis at the CBVCTs of central Poland. Here we describe factors associated with and changes over time in linkage to care and access to cART.

Method: Data collected in 2010-2013 in CBVCTs were linked with HIV clinics records using unique identifiers.

Factors responsible for incomplete linkage to care after HIV diagnosis: preliminary results from the Test and Keep in Care (TAK) project.

Objectives: Linkage to care after HIV diagnosis remains underinvestigated in Europe, yet delays in linkage to care are an important obstacle to controlling the HIV epidemic. The Test and Keep in Care (TAK) project aims to determine the prevalence of HIV-positive persons who are lost or late to care and factors associated with this.

Methods: Data from community-based voluntary counselling and testing that occurred in 2010-2011 were linked with data from HIV clinics using unique test numbers.