However, the healthcare workers told the patients at different times – on diagnosis, after starting therapy, once they were undetectable – and also phrased the information in different ways. The inconsistent practice highlighted in BHIVA’s survey of its members prompted the organisation to issue a public statement about U=U on World AIDS Day, 1 December, last year.
A survey conducted at the Mortimer Market Centre’s Bloomsbury HIV clinic in London found that most patients received the information with relief, but that a minority found the information confusing or even distressing. Patients also misunderstood, or developed inaccurate beliefs, about U=U too, such as believing the message covers breastfeeding, which it currently does not.”