STD/HIV prevention practices among primary care clinicians: risk assessment, prevention counseling, and testing

Abstract

Objective: To describe current practices of primary care (PC) clinicians for STD/HIV control services: risk assessment, prevention counseling, and offering tests.

Study design: We identified clinical strategies through qualitative interviews. We then surveyed by mail a random sample of Washington State family physicians, general internists, obstetrician-gynecologists, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives. We identified characteristics of clinicians and their practices associated with each strategy and universal provision of each service.

Results: We report on 519 clinicians (80% adjusted response rate). Clinicians provided services to selected patients they considered high risk. Universal practices were less common: risk assessment (56%), prevention counseling (60%), STD tests (30%), and HIV tests (19%). Universal services were more common among nurses, those recently trained, and those seeing more STD patients.

Conclusion: Different types of PC clinicians use widely differing clinical strategies and many use selective rather than universal approaches to STD/HIV control services. Further research is needed to develop tailored interventions to improve provision of these services.