VCT is an important strategy for HIV prevention and access to treatment, care and support services. Although overall knowledge of where to access HIV testing services was high, rural respondents and those 50 years and older make less use of, and have less access to VCT services.

Of the 11 838 respondents 15 years and older who were tested for HIV in this survey, 3 586 (30.3%, or just under a third) said they had previously been tested for HIV. About a third of respondents indicated that they had been tested in the past year.

Table 3.53 shows that respondents who have had a HIV test before the survey, had a higher HIV prevalence (16.2%) than those who have never had an HIV test (12.8%), which is a statistically significant difference in HIV prevalence. While this suggests that people who are more at risk of HIV are more likely to be tested, it is estimated that there are over two million people living in South Africa who are HIV positive, but do not know their status.

The study found that HIV testing was most likely to be conducted in the public sector, and that the overall perceptions of service satisfaction within the immediate testing environment were extremely high. A quarter (25.1%) of respondents were very satisfied, 70.6% were satisfied, and only 4.3% were neutral, unsatisfied or very unsatisfied.

Willingness of individuals to undergo VCT is influenced by a range of factors, including motivation to know one's status, although in a number of instances VCT is a product of factors related to health and life insurance, pregnancy or illness.

A considerable proportion of respondents in this study found out their HIV status because they wanted to know it, or were feeling ill, or were pregnant (in the case of females), HIV testing also occurs as a product of external factors such as applying for an insurance policy or loan.