HIV Testing in the United States, 2002

OBJECTIVE: This report presents national estimates of testing for Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The objectives are to present nationally representative estimates of the degree of self-reported lifetime and recent HIV testing among persons 15-44 years of age in the United States. The report also contains data on sources of testing, reasons for tests, and whether HIV counseling was obtained. METHODS: Data from the 2002 NSFG, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), are based on interviews with a national sample of the household population of the United States. In-person, face-to-face interviews were conducted in the homes of 12,571 males and females 15-44 years of age in 2002. Most of the data used for this report were collected by an interviewer who asked the questions and entered the answers into a laptop computer. RESULTS: One-half of men and women 15-44 years of age in 2002 reported that they had been tested at least once (other than through blood donation), and 15.1 percent had been tested in the past 12 months, which is equivalent to 17-20 million tests per year among 15-44 year olds. Testing is more common in some population subgroups than others, for example, among African Americans and persons with increased risk for HIV. Private physicians and HMOs were the largest provider of tests, accounting for 45 percent of recent tests. Public sources accounted for 22 percent of tests. A minority of recently tested respondents (29 percent) reported talking with a health professional about the HIV test after being tested. Among women who had recently been pregnant, 69 percent reported being tested for HIV during prenatal care. Persons 15-44 years of age with increased risk for HIV, defined by drug-related or sex-related behavior, had higher reported testing during their lifetime and in the past 12 months than those not at higher risk. However, one-third of this higher risk group reported that they had never had an HIV test, equivalent to 4.1-5.5 million untested, at-risk persons aged 15-44 years, and a majority of higher risk persons had not been tested in the past year.