Many barriers prevent people from getting tested for HIV, including lack of knowledge, competing priorities during medical visits, and stigma associated with the test on the part of both the patient and provider.
不much is known, however, about what impact age and ethnicity have on HIV testing.
Brandon Brown, an HIV researcher at the University of California, Riverside's School of Medicine, is the lead author on a study published today in the journalMedicine, in which he and his co-authors argue that interventions are urgently needed to reach older adults and Hispanics to address HIV testing and beliefs.
"These interventions must debunk beliefs among physicians that older adults are not sexually active, and beliefs among older adults that only others are at risk of HIV," said Brown, an associate professor of social medicine, population, and public health.
The study also found that Hispanic participants were less likely to receive HIV testing than non-Hispanic participants.
"Timely interventions, including HIV testing, are especially important for the Hispanic community in the United States because Hispanics are disproportionately affected by HIV," Brown said. "They account for 20 percent of HIV infections, with a rate of three-to-four times that of whites."
Brown and colleagues explored data on self-reported HIV risk and willingness to be tested. They focused on age and ethnicity in the Coachella Valley using the 2014 Get Tested Coachella Valley Community Survey. The team collected data from nearly 1,000 participants related to demographics, sexual history, HIV testing history, thoughts on who should get tested, and future preferences for HIV testing.
"We found stigma, education, provider recommendations, risk perceptions, and cost are among major factors contributing to accepting HIV testing and intention to receive HIV testing," Brown said.
超过100万人患有艾滋病毒在联合国ited States, with as many as 25 percent likely unaware of their HIV status. The Coachella Valley holds more than half the people living with HIV and AIDS in Riverside County, California's fourth-largest county by population. Approximately 24 percent of people living with HIV in the Coachella Valley are aged 60 or older. Caucasians make up about 74 percent of the population; nearly 20 percent are Hispanic.
The study also found:
"Our recommendations to health care providers are that they talk directly with their patients during clinical visits about HIV prevention and HIV risk, and that they routinely offer HIV screening as part of primary care," Brown said.
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Materialsprovided byUniversity of California - Riverside. Original written by Iqbal Pittalwala.不e: Content may be edited for style and length.
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