Profile of Seropositives Visiting a HIV Screening Centre of a Tertiary Care Teaching Institute in North India

Background: In the era of declining HIV/AIDS prevalence, low penetration of Information Education and Counseling (IEC) activities, particularly among the rural community is still a matter of concern for public health officials. Integrated Counseling and Testing Centers (ICTC's) are key entry points for a wide range of interventions in HIV awareness, prevention and care in India. Objective: The objective of current study was to assess the socio-demographic profile and risk behavior of attendees who tested seropositive at our ICTC clinic. Methodology: A prospective questionnaire based study from August 2009 to December 2013 was conducted in the ICTC attached to Microbiology department of SGPGIMS to enumerate the socio-demographic and risk behavior pattern of HIV positive cases. Result: Among 16038 attendees investigated during the study, 298(1.86%) tested positive for HIV with a male to female ratio of 2.24:1. Maximum seropositivity (35.6%) was found in the age group of 31-40 years followed by 21-30 years age group (26.8%). Most of the study individuals were married (86.6%) and belonged to rural community. Unprotected heterosexual route was found to be the commonest (71.1%) mode of infection. The majority of the subjects had received education up to primary (36.2%) and secondary level (31.9%). Conclusion: The rural population and the sexually active and economically productive age group dominated among the HIV seropositives presenting at this centre. Heterosexual route is still the predominant mode of transmission among seropositives. Recommendation: The planning and designing of IEC activities should be based on socio-demographic profile and risk behavior pattern of a particular area.