Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jan;13(1):104-109.
doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2019.07.005. Epub 2019 Aug 1.

Patients' response to an emergency department-based HIV testing program and perception of their friends' attitudes on HIV testing among patients seeking care at an urban emergency department in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Cassie Wicken  1 , Ama Avornu  1 , Carl A Latkin  2 , Melissa A Davey-Rothwell  2 , Jim Kim  1 , Raza Zaidi  1 , Richard Rothman  1 , Yu-Hsiang Hsieh  3
Affiliations

Patients' response to an emergency department-based HIV testing program and perception of their friends' attitudes on HIV testing among patients seeking care at an urban emergency department in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Cassie Wicken et al. J Infect Public Health. 2020 Jan.

Abstract

Background: Little is known regarding the possible role of social network members and peer attitudes on emergency department (ED) patients' willingness to be tested for HIV.

Methods: We conducted mixed methods in-depth interview and quantitative survey with ED patients from November 2013 to June 2014 to assess peer and personal perceptions of ED-based HIV testing. Patients enrolled were asked about their own attitudes toward HIV testing as well as those of their friends. Interviews were transcribed and categories that captured free responses in the verbatim were independently coded by two reviewers.

Results: Overall, 86 patients were enrolled including 22 HIV known positive. Among 64 HIV-negative participants, 50 were tested during the past 12 months and 4 had never been tested. The majority (82.5%) of participants thought that their friends were likely to accept HIV testing in EDs. Participants discussed their perceptions of friends' attitudes toward HIV testing: the majority (60%) believed their friends held positive attitudes about HIV testing. The majority of participants believed that their friends had positive feelings about HIV testing and were likely to accept testing in ED settings.

Conclusions: Interventions utilizing peer networks to promote HIV testing and increase testing acceptance could be designed and explored.

Keywords: Emergency department; HIV testing; HIV testing history; Peer’s perceptions and attitudes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

References

    1. Rothman R, Hsieh Y-H, Harvey L, et al. 2009 US Emergency Department HIV Testing Practices. Ann Emerg Med 2011;58:S3–S9.e4. - PubMed
    1. Haukoos J, Lyons M, White D, Hsieh Y, Rothman R. Acute HIV infection and implications of fourth-generation HIV screening in emergency departments. Ann Emerg Med 2014;64:547–51. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gardner E, Haukoos J. At the Crossroads of the HIV Care Continuum: Emergency Departments and the HIV Epidemic. Ann Emerg Med 2015;66:79–81. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Leidel S, Wilson S, McConigley R, Boldy D, Girdler S. Health-care providers’ experiences with opt-out HIV testing: a systematic review. AIDS Care 2015;27:1455–67. - PubMed
    1. Pollard A, Llewellyn C, Smith H, Richardson D, Fisher M. Opt-out testing for HIV: perspectives from a high prevalence community in south-east England, UK. Int J STD AIDS 2013;24:307–12. - PubMed