TOWARDS A NEW APPROACH TO HIV TESTING IN ROMANIA
TOWARDS A NEW APPROACH TO HIV TESTING IN ROMANIA

Summary/Abstract: Without effective prevention of HIV spreading, the number of people at risk of infection and who will need antiretroviral treatment will be increasing constantly. This situation could result in additional pressure on health and social budgets at a time when the scarcity of financial resources is becoming more and more obvious. HIV testing plays a crucial role in the treatment and prevention of this infection. Stigma and discrimination associated with HIV infection are still obstacles that prevent people from addressing health services which offer care and prevention. The institutional framework in which counseling and testing are offered must be directly linked to the fundamental human rights principles. Whereas HIV testing with informed consent is traditional and has been used from the beginning of the epidemic (opt-in testing), routine or universal screening is a relatively new approach in HIV prevention services (opt-out testing). Although Romania has a low prevalence of HIV transmission as compared to other European countries, data show that the number of newly diagnosed patients increases each year. As a response to this situation more and more medical professionals consider that a shift in HIV testing policy is needed by replacing the opt-in testing with universal screening. This article aims to analyze the ethics of HIV universal screening using as a reference system four bioethical principles – beneficence, respect for human dignity, autonomy and justice.

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