Background: Shame and stigma brings about undesirable attribute and significantly contributes to the HIV screening and STI treatment seeking, particularly among sex workers. Societal compulsion and feelings of perceived stigma and shame make the sex workers more vulnerable and likely to destabilize their community and the community at large, if no attention is paid. Hence this study was necessitated to document the experiences of stigma and shame and its influence in HIV screening.

Background : An estimated 2.47 million (2.0-3.1 million) people were living with HIV/AIDS in India by the end of 2006. Among those HIV infected individuals, TB was the commonest opportunistic infection and leading cause of mortality. HIV infection makes a person susceptible to both pulmonary and extra pulmonary forms of TB. Various studies have documented the occurrence of TB from 46 to 65 percent . However, provision of HIV screening services for Tuberculosis out patient attendees is limited at present.