Background: ‘Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre’ (ICTC) to provide services to all clients under one roof. An ICTC is a place where a person is counselled and tested for HIV, of his own free will or as advised by a medical provider. Counselling is supposed to help HIV positive person by providing them support and linking them with treatment facilities.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the role of counseling services provided at ICTC for HIV positive persons in coping with their HIV positive status

Methodology: The present study was a cross sectional study carried out at Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC), Govt. Medical College, Amritsar from 1^st Jan’09 to 31^st Dec’09. The HIV positive persons who came to collect their positive reports were interviewed by the authors.

Results: Majority of respondents were males (61.2%), currently married (73.6%), belonged to upper lower socio economic status(64.2%). Most of them felt either depressed (62%) or sad (42.7%) after knowing their HIV positive status and they perceived it as a death sentence. After counseling session, there was a decrease in negative feelings and 77.3% reported having a more positive attitude towards life. 62.7% became aware of HIV treatment facilities available after counseling while other aspects of awareness during counseling included, modes of spread of HIV (50.9%), precautions to be taken to prevent spread (39.8%) and misconceptions about HIV (15.3%).

Conclusion: Counseling plays an important role in providing support to HIV positive persons in coping up with their HIV positive status.

1. Rashed A. Knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices of population in Kuwait about AIDS. In: Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 1995;1(2):235-40.
2. Dolla CK, Bhat J, Yadav R. Priorities for Preventing HIV Epidemic in Low Prevalence States in India. In: Indian Journal for practicing doctor 2008;5(3).
3. The Impact of HIV and AIDS on Children, Families and Communities. [Online]. Available from: URL:undp.org/hiv/publications/issues/english/issue30e.html
4. Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre. [Online]. 2007; Available from: URL:http://www.nacoonline.org/National_AIDS_Control_Program/Services_for_Prevention/Integrated_Counselling_and_Testing__ICT/
5. HIV counseling. In: HIV counseling training module for VCT, PPTCT and ART counselors. Byword editorial consultants; 2006. p. vii.
6. National AIDS Control Organization. Women and HIV and AIDS. In: Mainstreaming HIV and AIDS for Women’s Empowerment. Government of India; 2008. p.5-6
7. Kishore J. National AIDS Control Program. In: National Health Programmes of India. 7^th New Delhi: Century Publishers; 2007. p 203-07.
8. Sudha RT, Vijay DT, Lakshmi V. Awareness, attitudes, and beliefs of the general public towards HIV/AIDS in Hyderabad, a capital city from South India. In: Indian Journal of Medical Sciences 2005;59:307-16.
9. Dolla CK, Bhat J, Yadav R. Priorities for Preventing HIV Epidemic in Low Prevalence States in India. In: Indian Journal for practicing doctor 2008;5(3).
10. The Impact of HIV and AIDS on Children, Families and Communities. [Online]. Available from: URL:undp.org/hiv/publications/issues/english/issue30e.html
11. UNAIDS, WHO. Global Summary. In: AIDS epidemic update. Geneva: UNAIDS and WHO; 2009. p. 1,37.
12. National AIDS Control Organization. Introduction. In: Annual Report 2009-10. New Delhi: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; 2010. p. i.
13. Basanta K. Pradhan, Ramamani Sundar. Stigma and discrimination. In: Gender impact of HIV and AIDS in India. New Delhi: New Concept Information Systems Pvt. Ltd; 2006. p. 5, 68-72.
14. Nyanzi-Wakholi B, et al. The role of HIV testing, counseling and treatment in coping with HIV/AIDS in Uganda: a qualitative analysis. AIDS Care 2009;21(7).
15. Witzel TC, Lora W, Lees S, Desmond N. Uptake contexts and perceived impacts of HIV testing and counseling among adults in East and Southern Africa: A meta-ethnographic review. PLOS ONE 2017;12(2):p e0170588.

Dr Priyanka

Assistant Professor, Community Medicine,

Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi

Ph: 9582052646, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.