Study: Rural Persons Less Likely To Be Tested For HIV

A new study reports that rural areas score lower on self-reported testing of high-risk populations than urban areas:

In this nationally-representative, population-based study of HIV testing frequencies in the United States, we found that the frequency of self-reported HIV testing decreased substantially as the residential environment became progressively more rural. After adjusting for differences in demographics and self-reported HIV risk factors, the odds of HIV testing in the past year were 35% lower among persons living in the most remote rural areas compared to persons in the most urban areas. Rural persons with a prior HIV test were more likely than urban to report testing in a hospital, but less likely in the outpatient setting.

A prior study in the early years of the HIV epidemic in the US also found that rural persons were less likely than urban to report HIV testing.^[6] Our results demonstrate that this gap in testing persists in the modern era of effective HIV therapy, when early diagnosis and linkage to care are even more essential. Moreover, recent efforts to increase testing have not impacted the rural-urban gap in testing. Although rural persons with HIV experience barriers to care, prior studies have described effective models for delivering high-quality HIV care in rural settings.^[12–18] This accentuates the importance of early testing and diagnosis among rural persons with HIV.

Still work to do…

Get Yourself Tested, You’re > AIDS

Jun7 by D Gregory Smith

Two HIV awareness campaigns are teaming up this month to promote HIV testing and treatment. The Get Yourself Tested campaign (GYT) and Greater Than AIDS (>AIDS) have teamed up for National HIV Testing Awareness Month, to promote greater awareness of the importance of HIV testing, treatment and education.

As we mark 30 years of AIDS, it’s worth noting the tremendous progress made in terms of the life-saving treatments now available, but to benefit from these advances one must first know their status,” said Tina Hoff, Senior Vice President & Director, Health Communication & Media Partnerships, Kaiser Family Foundation, a partner on both campaigns. “Be Greater Than AIDS: Get Yourself Tested is an empowering, uplifting message that makes getting tested an act of pride, not shame.”

“Our audience has never known a time without HIV, but through efforts like GYT, we’re committed to empowering them to forge a world where HIV doesn’t exist,” said Jason Rzepka, Vice President of Public Affairs, MTV. “We’re proud to join with this remarkable coalition and reinforce regular testing as one way America’s youth can be greater than AIDS.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), of the more than one million Americans living with HIV today, one in five of those infected don’t know their status. The CDC encourages all Americans between the ages of 13-64 to get tested on a routine basis as part of their overall health and well-being similar to cholesterol, blood pressure, and other screens.

More here.

Fear is useless, get the test. The key to a longer, healthier life with HIV is early diagnosis and treatment. So if you’ve been thinking about it, do it. If you need a friend to go with you, call someone. Better yet, grab your best friend and just go together.

Today.

The key to preventing this disease is treating the people who already have it. We know that people who are taking their meds are much less likely to pass on the virus. And if they don’t pass on the virus, it can’t spread. The greatest reason for this epidemic today is this: people who don’t know their status- who are HIV infected and are not treating it, are infecting their partners. Treatment may well be the greatest key to prevention.

Let’s stop the cycle.

Click here to find a testing site near you.

Calling All HIV Negative Men- This Is Your Time

May27 by D Gregory Smith

Damn! Mark King scooped me again. I was thinking about saying this for a while, but my friend did it beautifully, so why bother? I’ll just reprint it… 🙂

This is directed to HIV-negative gay men. Listen carefully. This is your time.

I’ve lived with HIV more than half of my life, and people often praise me far more than I deserve, simply for surviving. They use words like brave and courageous.

You know what takes courage? Getting an HIV test every few months. You, waiting nervously while your most personal sexual choices are literally being tested, waiting to find out if you’ve been good – or if you’re going to pay for a single lapse in judgment by testing positive, when the look on the faces of your friends will say you should have known better.

I have no idea what that must be like. I took the test over 25 years ago. The positive result was traumatic, no doubt about it, and I soldiered on during some awfully frightening times. But I have a significant psychological advantage over my HIV negative friends: I only took that damn test once.

Read the rest here. It’s excellent.

Facebook Plea

Jun18 by D Gregory Smith

Also published at Bilerico.com

National HIV awareness organization Who’s Positive is launching a ten-day effort to promote HIV testing by taking a Facebook group viral.

“Just like a successful attempt to bring Betty White to Saturday Night Live, Who’s Positive encourages people from all over the World to join a Facebook group called “ANDERSON COOPER or Dr. SANJAY GUPTA – PERFORM LIVE HIV TEST ON AIR on 6/27,” said Tom Donohue, Founding Director of Who’s Positive.

“Yesterday was not soon enough, tomorrow is too late to bring much needed attention to this epidemic” says Donohue. “We need to respond to the HIV epidemic with the same urgency as our nation has to the H1N1 virus. I’m hopeful that this Facebook group will become viral and Anderson and Sanjay will step up to dedicating a small part of their nearly daily appearance on CNN to getting tested and showing how painless and simple being tested can be.”

Painless and simple, right?

Not really.

Who’s Positive is a great organization – I subscribe to their email newsletter, have been inspired by the stories of members, and used their resources for my clients and HIV+ support groups. But I wonder if the message is just getting lost with all the other distractions of Pride Month.

Like many others in HIV prevention work, I see the uphill battle every day. I see the LGBT kids who have little or no self-esteem, the married men who are secretly having unsafe sex on the side, the middle-aged out-and-proud gay men who are tired of condoms, and the HIV positive people who are worn out from rejection, hypervigilance, economic worries and fear of the future. I see them all. I’ve staffed the HIV booths at Pride festivals, I’ve handed out condoms in parades. I’ve watched the glazing over of eyes when talking about HIV to high-risk groups. I’ve worked my ass off. Often it makes me physically and emotionally very tired- and sometimes very cynical about the ubiquitous pairing of HIV and Pride.

Let’s face it, denial in the form of colorful parades, drunken revelry and hot bodies is much more attractive than the reality of an HIV wake-up call.

Don’t kill the buzz, dude.

But I take a breath, reinforce my belief in the fundamental goodness of humanity and soldier on – like thousands of others.

Like Tom Donohue.

It’s people like him who can take that cynicism and turn it around. ” A facebook group, well why not?” Maybe people can click a link in between sewing sequins on their g-strings and waxing. In fact, maybe we could make it sexy. “Join this group while naked!”

However it works, it can only help. But only if people join.

Personally, I did it while wearing my sequined g-string.