OPEN-TEST: A new strategy to improve and promote access to HIV and HCV testing in Romania

(2020-2023) – Principal Investigator for IVN Camelia Sultana MD, PhD

Grant agreement Ref. OPM/2018/01274

Aim: The main objective is to challenge the primary issue of HIV/HCV prevention, make people aware of their status, especially among most-at-risk populations,through the promotion of HIV/HCV rapid testing and counselling; moreover, the second aim is the spread of HIV/HCV information and educating the people at risk to get regularly tested.

Partners: Coordinator: Associazione Nazionale Lotta AIDS Sez. Lombarda (ANLAIDS), Italy

Partner 1: IVN: Stefan S. Nicolau Institute of Virology, Bucharest – Principal Investigator Dr Camelia Sultana

Partner 2: CEPRO, Centrul Profilaxia, Timisoara – Principal Investigator Dr Gratiana Chicin

Working team: Camelia Sultana, Camelia Grancea, Daniela Chiriac

Project financed by Otto per Mille della Chiesa Valdese, Italy

Implementation period: 2020-2023

Summary: Four main activities were related with the Open Test Project implementation:

1. Training course for staff (recruiters), general practitioners and other healthcare experts involved in HIV/HCV prevention activities.
2. Organization of a marketing campaign that promoted OPEN-TEST project, prevention, and testing (in social media, local radio, newspapers, and local websites).

3. Organization of testing campaign in the participating regions to perform rapid tests – in selected clinical and not clinical settings (at least 1500).
4. Collection and analysis of data from the participating regions in order to identify best practices and main barriers related to HIV/HCV testing implementation experiences and to have a better knowledge and understanding of different experiences from the participating countries.

Results:

Articles and communications:

Camelia Sultana, Mihnea Casian, Cristiana Oprea, Irina Ianache, Camelia Grancea, Daniela Chiriac, Simona Ruta. Hepatitis B Virus Genotypes and Antiviral Resistance Mutations ȋn Romanian HIV-HBV Co-Infected Patients. Medicina. 2022; 58(4):531. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58040531; IF (2022)=2.430