A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of a Home- Based HIV Counselling and Testing Intervention versus the Standard (Facility Based) HIV Testing Strategy in Rural South Africa

Abstract

Introduction There is growing evidence concerning the acceptability and feasibility of home-based HIV testing. However, less is known about the cost-effectiveness of the approach yet it is a critical component to guide decisions about scaling up access to HIV testing. This study examined the cost-effectiveness of a home-based HIV testing intervention in rural South Africa. Methods Two alternatives: clinic and home-based HIV counselling and testing were compared. Costs were analysed from a provider’s perspective for the period of January to December 2010. The outcome, HIV counselling and testing (HCT) uptake was obtained from the Good Start home-based HIV counselling and testing (HBHCT) cluster randomised control trial undertaken in KwaZulu-Natal province. Cost-effectiveness was estimated for a target population of 22,099 versus 23,864 people for intervention and control communities respectively. Average costs were calculated as the cost per client tested, while cost-effectiveness was calculated as the cost per additional client tested through HBHCT.

Description

Keywords

HIV/AIDS, Testing, Counselling

Citation

Tabana H, Nkonki L, Hongoro C, Doherty T, Ekström AM, Naik R, et al. (2015) A Cost- Effectiveness Analysis of a Home-Based HIV Counselling and Testing Intervention versus the Standard (Facility Based) HIV Testing Strategy in Rural South Africa. PLoS ONE 10(8): e0135048. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0135048