Educating health professionals in obstetrics and gynecology regarding rapid human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing in labor and delivery: a local initiative.

Although, the Centers for Disease Control and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have advised rapid HIV testing for laboring women of unknown human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status since 2004 to ensure that results are known prior to delivery, physicians and hospital staff have been slow to follow the recommendation. A multi-component intervention was implemented to educate physicians and hospital staff. There was low baseline knowledge (<50% correct) in the areas of HIV prevalence, use of rapid testing in the prevention of perinatal HIV transmission, and treatment. On 9 out of 14 items, participants demonstrated a >35% increase in correct responses from pre-test to 3 month post-test. Baseline knowledge among obstetric health care providers about how to diagnose and treat newly diagnosed pregnant women was low. Brief exposure to an educational program yielded a marked increase in knowledge that was sustained over 3 months. Educating health professionals in obstetrics and gynecology regarding rapid human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing in labor and delivery: a local initiative.