Contrary to popular belief, the main reason people avoid HIV testing is fear of a positive result - not because they are worried about breaches in confidentiality, says a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
As a result, HIV outreach efforts should strengthen educational efforts aimed at informing the community on promising treatments for HIV-infected individuals.
In interviews with 2,370 HIV-negative or untested people, 25 percent of those who were tested and 23 percent of those who delayed testing cited fear of a positive result as the main reason they avoided testing.
Privacy issues, however, are still an important factor in most people's decision to get tested for HIV and need to be fully addressed in HIV outreach efforts.
The study found that if testing was anonymous and results were not reported to the state's health department, 84 percent of those who were untested would be tested in the coming year. And if there were no HIV reporting at all, 72 percent would be tested.
Given these findings, the CDC strongly recommends anonymous HIV testing as a viable option particularly for communities that are at higher risk of HIV infection.
(CDC, 404/693-3311)