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HIV Risk and Sociodemographic Factors Associated with Physician-Advised HIV Testing: What Factors Are Overlooked in African American Populations?

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Abstract

HIV is diagnosed at eight times the rate in African Americans (AAs) compared to whites. One-third of AAs have never been tested for HIV. Studies indicate low rates of HIV testing in healthcare settings, so understanding missed opportunities for HIV testing can inform prevention efforts in these settings. Our study examined predictors of self-reported physician-advised HIV testing using baseline survey data (N = 1500) from Taking It to the Pews (TIPS), a church-basedHIV/STD testing and education intervention. One-third (33%) of participants reported that their physician ever suggested an HIV test. Results indicated that participants who identified as homosexual/bisexual, received Medicaid or were uninsured, and/or had previously diagnosed STDs were more likely to report physician-advised HIV testing. AA churches provide a unique opportunity to increase the reach of HIV testing and may be well-positioned to equip their church and community members with information on HIV risk and strategies to advocate for physician-advised routine HIV testing in medical settings.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our community partners—Calvary Community Outreach Network and the KC FAITH Initiative for their efforts on this project.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Institute of Health (Grant # 5R01MH099981-04).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Missouri—Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA

    Kelsey Christensen, Jannette Berkley-Patton & Alexandria Bauer

  2. Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics, University of Missouri—Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA

    Kelsey Christensen, Jannette Berkley-Patton, Binoy Shah, Natasha Aduloju-Ajijola, Alexandria Bauer, Carole Bowe Thompson & Sheila Lister

Authors
  1. Kelsey Christensen
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  2. Jannette Berkley-Patton
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Correspondence to Kelsey Christensen.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of University of Missouri—Kansas City Institutional Review Board (Protocol ID: 13-926) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Christensen, K., Berkley-Patton, J., Shah, B. et al. HIV Risk and Sociodemographic Factors Associated with Physician-Advised HIV Testing: What Factors Are Overlooked in African American Populations?. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 7, 121–128 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-019-00641-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-019-00641-5

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