Development and pilot testing of HIV screening program integration within public/primary health centers providing antenatal care services in Maharashtra, India.

Background: The objectives of this paper are: (1) to study the feasibility and relative benefits of integrating the prevention of parent-to-child transmission (PPTCT) component of the National AIDS Control Program with the maternal and child health component of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) by offering HIV screening at the primary healthcare level; and (2) to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio to understand whether the costs are commensurate with the benefits.

Methods: The intervention included advocacy with political, administrative/health heads, and capacity building of health staff in Satara district, Maharashtra, India. The intervention also conducted biannual outreach activities at primary health centers (PHCs)/sub-centers (SCs); initiated facility-based integrated counseling and testing centers (FICTCs) at all round-the-clock PHCs; made the existing FICTCs functional and trained PHC nurses in HIV screening.

Addressing vulnerabilities of female sex workers in an HIV prevention intervention in Mumbai and Thane: experiences from the Aastha project.

Background: It is important for targeted interventions to consider vulnerabilities of female sex workers (FSWs) such as poverty, work-related mobility, and literacy, for effective human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention. This paper describes and examines the association of the Aastha HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention project in Mumbai and Thane, India, on the relationship between vulnerability and behavioral outcomes.

Materials And Methods: Data were drawn from the Behavioural Tracking Survey, a cross-sectional behavioral study conducted in 2010 with 2,431 FSWs recruited in Mumbai and Thane.

Introduction of rapid tests for large-scale syphilis screening among female, male, and transgender sex workers in Mumbai, India.

Background: Despite widespread availability of rapid plasma reagin (RPR) for syphilis screening at sex worker (SW)-dedicated project clinics, uptake of syphilis testing remains low and prevalence of syphilis remains high among SWs in Maharashtra, India. The primary reasons given for refusal of RPR were fear of venipuncture and long waiting times for results.

Methods: Between December 2007 and February 2008, rapid point of contact diagnostic tests (Syphicheck-WB, Qualpro Diagnostics, India) using finger-prick samples were introduced for syphilis screening, with RPR confirmation test of positives.