Objective: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has funded a variety of HIV counseling and testing services to promote reduction of HIV risk behaviors, early knowledge of HIV infection status, and access to preventive, medical, and psychosocial services. One of these CDC-funded services is the National AIDS Hotline (NAH) , which provides information on HIV/AIDS and referrals to callers. We used the 1995 NAH English data to examine factors related to callers whose initial question was related to HIV-testing. Methods: Two kinds of data were collected: active data, which mainly consisted of demographics, and passive data, which included HIV-related questions. The responses of 22,044 callers who had been randomly selected through a computer program were analyzed by using the Statistical Analysis Software (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC). Results: Of the 22,044 callers, 51% were women; 72% were White (16% African American; 9% Hispanic); 26% were married; 87% had completed high school or had higher education; 20% were initially interested in questions about HIV testing; 36% actually discussed issues related to HIV testing; 22% had never been tested; 21% had been tested; and 3% were HIV-positive. When we controlled age, education, and testing history, men (p=0.01), African Americans (p=0.0001), persons at low risk (p=0.0001), and persons infected with HIV (p=0.0001) were more likely to have an initial interest in HIV testing. Conclusions: Results suggest that efforts to increase interest in HIV testing could benefit from targeting women, Hispanics, and high-risk populations.
Learning Objectives: describe the characteristics of callers to the National AIDS Hotline; identify factors associated with callers whose initial question of interest was about HIV testing; list possible areas to improve awareness of HIV testing
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, HIV Interventions
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.