Predictors of HIV Testing among Nevadans

In Fall 2006, the CDC revised their recommendations for HIV testing among adults, in part due to the large number of persons who are infected but unaware of their status. The purpose of this study was to determine which factors are most strongly associated with reporting not ever being tested for HIV among adult Nevadans. A cross-sectional analysis was performed using weighted data from the 2005 Nevada Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Using SAS v9.1, stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate which variables were potential risk factors for not getting tested for HIV and to check model fit. Weighted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were obtained for all participating BRFSS survey respondents 18 years or over (N=3,161) in Nevada. A total of 1,295 [53.9% (95% CI 50.8 - 57.0)] respondents reported that they had not ever been tested for HIV. Self-reported predictor variables included high risk sexual behavior, health status, health care access, sex, education, income, race, and age. Significant interactions were found between race and most health care access variables, and therefore three individual models were run. The predictors of not getting HIV tested varied by race and included high risk sexual behavior, age, never seeing a doctor for a routine check-up, general health, health care coverage, and income. Larger epidemiological studies are necessary to investigate whether true racial disparities exist for not getting HIV tested. Our findings also suggest that different strategies across races may be necessary to improve HIV testing rates in Nevada.