HIV Counseling and Testing

Using data from Section 4 of the CADR, this section of the report describes HIV counseling and testing services utilized by clients through the CARE Act between January 2002 and December 2002. The HIV counseling and testing narrative is based on the data tables presented in this section.

PROVIDER-RELATED DATA

In 2002, 28 percent of all CARE Act funded organization reporting CADR data (n=753) provided HIV counseling and testing services (Table 13). These services include activities such as pretest counseling on the benefits of testing (including the medical benefits of diagnosing HIV disease in the early stages); and providing HIV antibody tests and posttest counseling (including the benefits of receiving early primary care intervention). Of those providers delivering HIV counseling and testing services to clients, 43 percent of providers (n=320) used CARE Act funds to provide these services while 58 percent of providers (n=433) did not use CARE Act funds. In 2002, 38 percent of providers (n=283) offered partner notification services. Certain States and local jurisdictions mandate that only health department personnel perform partner notification activities. The data reported in the CADR may include information from Ryan White CARE Act providers who must refer partner notification activities to health department personnel for action.

Table 13. Number of CARE Act Providers Offering HIV Counseling and Testing, 2002

CLIENT-RELATED DATA

CARE Act providers offering HIV counseling and testing reported important utilization data concerning the clients receiving these services in 2002. The number of infants tested during the reporting period was 13,024.

In 2002, HIV pretest counseling was provided to 773,170 persons with 626,739 persons or 81 percent receiving confidential HIV pretest counseling services and 146,431 persons or 19 percent receiving anonymous HIV pretest counseling services. Of the 773,170 persons who received HIV pretest counseling, 92 percent (n=707,812) were tested for the HIV antibody during the reporting period. Ninety-one percent (n=569,646) of the 626,739 individuals who received pretest counseling underwent confidential testing while 94 percent (n=138,166) of the 146,431 individuals who received anonymous pretest counseling were tested for HIV antibodies (Table 14).

Table 14. Number of Persons Receiving HIV Counseling and Testing from CARE Act Providers, 2002

CARE Act providers reported that a total of 15,691 individuals had a positive test result for the HIV antibody among those who received pretest counseling and were tested. This means that among those who received HIV pretest counseling and were tested for the HIV antibody, 2.2 percent of individuals tested positive for HIV antibodies.

CARE Act providers were also concerned with providing prevention and/or treatment services to individuals after testing. Overall, CARE Act providers reported that 436,661 individuals or 62 percent of those who received HIV pretest counseling and were tested for the HIV antibody returned for posttest counseling. Among those returning for posttest counseling, 340,467 individuals or 78 percent received confidential counseling and 96,194 individuals (22 percent) received anonymous counseling services.

Differences were noted in the rate of return for posttest counseling between individuals who received confidential testing and those who underwent anonymous testing. While 60 percent of individuals who received confidential HIV pretest counseling and testing services returned for posttest counseling, a higher percentage of individual receiving anonymous services (70 percent) returned for posttest counseling.

CARE Act providers reported that a total of 2,638 individuals had a positive test result for the HIV antibody and did not return for posttest counseling. This means that among those who received a positive test result for the HIV antibody through a CARE Act provider, 16.8 percent of individuals did not return for testing results and post test counseling services.