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. 2013 Apr 26;3(4):e001834.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2012-001834. Print 2013.

Twenty-two years of HIV-related consultations in Dutch general practice: a dynamic cohort study

Gé Donker  1 , Sara Dorsman, Peter Spreeuwenberg, Ingrid van den Broek, Jan van Bergen
Affiliations

Twenty-two years of HIV-related consultations in Dutch general practice: a dynamic cohort study

Gé Donker et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the role of general practitioners (GPs) in HIV counselling and testing over a 22-year period.

Design: A dynamic cohort study.

Setting: General practices (N=42) participating in the Dutch Sentinel General Practice Network at Nivel with a nationally representative patient population by age, gender, regional distribution and population density.

Outcome measures: HIV-related consultations from 1988 to 2009 were recorded using a questionnaire in which patient's characteristics, interventions and test results were recorded. Trends over time and effects of urbanisation (3 categories) were assessed by multilevel analysis to control for clustering of observations within general practices.

Results: Time trend analyses show an increasing trend in HIV-related consultations and in the total number of HIV tests per 10 000 registered patients from 1988 to 1996, followed by a declining period and an increase again in the period 2007-2009. Over the whole period, the number of HIV-related consultations was highest in the urban areas with a maximum of 18 per 10 000 patients in 1996. The proportion of people high at risk, men who have sex with men, decreased. The proportion of HIV-related consultations initiated by the GPs increased from 11% in 1988 to 23% in 2009.

Conclusion: In this 22-year period, HIV-related consultations and provider-initiated HIV testing in the Dutch general practice have increased. More attention for sexual health in general practice is required that focuses on high-risk groups and on more routine testing in high prevalence areas.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trends in the number of HIV-related consultations per year in general practice per 10 000 patients in total with 95% CIs and by population density over the years 1988–2009 by a multilevel analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trends in the number of HIV tests per 10 000 registered patients in general practice per year in total and by population density over the years 1988–2009 by a multilevel analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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