Communicating Indeterminate HIV Western Blot Test Results to Clients: An Observational Study of Three Community Testing Sites

This study examined HIV test counselors’ beliefs and practices regarding communicating indeterminate HIV test results to clients. There are many reasons for an indeterminate HIV antibody/ Western blot assay including early HIV infection, infection with other contagious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and second or subsequent pregnancies in women. Field observations of three community HIV testing sites and semistructured interviews with 16 HIV test counselors were conducted from August 2002 through June 2003. Counselors defined an indeterminate test result in different ways. They also presented several different theories of causation, yet failed to mention two potential causes of an indeterminate result, association with large animals and infection with other (non-HIV-1) HIV strains. Counselors’ understanding of the meaning of an indeterminate HIV test result varied a great deal. Some counselors believed that an indeterminate result truly was ambiguous while others believed it was indicative of being either HIV-positive or HIV-negative. Counselors’ primary advice to clients who received an indeterminate result was to retest immediately without a waiting period. Counselors reported that communicating indeterminate test results to clients was a challenging task because clients who received such a result were confused, angry, and/or mistrustful. Results highlight the need for further research to provide reliable estimates of the extensiveness of indeterminate HIV test results and to further assess the nature of counselor and client responses to indeterminate test results.