‘You’ve got it, you may have it, you haven’t got it’: the unintended consequences of HIV testing

This paper considers the experiences of health consumers who have undergone diagnostic screening for HIV antibodies, T cells and viral load. These HIV-related screening tests are deployed for the purposes of making definitive diagnoses yet some consumers of testing experience imprecise outcomes. Drawing on an analysis of differing end user experiences of these tests, where consumers’ knowledge reflected the multiplicity and
heterogene ity in test design, I explore how these experiences reflect particular knowledges about these tests. The paper aims to contribute to efforts documenting how health consumers are active end users co-constructing the social meaning of technologies in mutual relations with other users. I discuss how this knowledge can be used to delineate a greater role for health consumers in evaluating screening as well as for
building a broader understanding of test design and performance.