Reports
Discussion Papers
No.597 Impacts of an HIV Counseling and Testing Initiative: Results from an Experimental Intervention in a Large Firm in South Africa
by Yutaka Arimoto, Narumi Hori, Seiro Ito , Yuya Kudo , Kazunari Tsukada
April 2016
ABSTRACT
We have run experimental interventions to promote HIV tests in a large firm in South Africa. We combined HIV tests with existing medical check programs to increase the uptake. In the foregoing survey we undertook previously, it was suggested that fears and stigma of HIV/AIDS were the primary reasons given by the employees for not taking the test. To counter these, we implemented randomized interventions. We find substantial heterogeneity in responses by ethnicity. Africans and Colored rejected the tests most often. Supportive information increased the uptake by 6 to 16% points. A tradeoff in targeting resulting in stigmatizing the targeted and a reduction of exclusion error is discussed.
Keywords: HIV, stigma, RCT, testing, corporate setting
JEL classification: I19, J16
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