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 On average, just 22 percent of high school students and 33 percent
of young adults aged 18 to 24 who report ever having sexual
intercourse also report being tested at least once for HIV,
researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.
“Adolescents and young adults face multiple barriers to HIV
testing,” said lead study author Michelle Van Handel, a scientist
specializing in HIV/AIDS prevention at the CDC in Atlanta.
For example, she said, young people often lack access to
confidential healthcare services, and their poor knowledge of sexual
health may lead them to underestimate their risk for HIV infection.
Also, healthcare providers might not realize that in 2006, the CDC
recommended that all people aged 13 to 64 be tested for HIV.
To see whether testing programs since then resulted in any increase
in HIV screening among sexually active youth, Van Handel and
colleagues analyzed data collected on high school students from 2005
to 2013 as well as records on young adults gathered from 2011 to
2013.
Among high school students, no change was detected in HIV testing
prevalence over the study period for this group, regardless of
gender or race, the analysis found.
For young men aged 18 to 24, there also weren’t any significant
changes in testing habits over the study period for this group, with
27 percent on average reporting at least one HIV test.
Screening decreased significantly for young women, dropping from
about 42 percent to 40 percent overall. Testing declined from 37
percent to 34 percent for white women, and from 69 percent to 60
percent for black women.
The results are troubling because 44 percent of adolescents and
young adults with HIV don’t realize they have it, the highest
percentage of any age group, the researchers note. Without testing
and diagnosis, they can’t get treatment that may improve their own
health and also lower the risk of transmission to others.
Declines in screening for black women and the lack of gains for
young men are particularly problematic because these groups have
higher risk of HIV infection than other young people, the
researchers also point out.
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The results highlight the need to get more teens and young adults
screened, said Ann Kurth, dean of the Yale College of Nursing in
Orange, Connecticut.
Access, affordability and confidentiality are big hurdles for young
people, said Kurth, a certified nurse midwife who has studied HIV
screening efforts in the U.S. as well as in Africa.
“Access to anonymous testing can make a big difference for young
people,” Kurth added by email.
Parents, educators and clinicians can also do a better job of
talking to teens about sexual health, and starting these
conversations at an early age before sexual activity begins.
“The main point for parents is to let your teen or child know that
you are there to listen and to help, and not necessarily expect them
to initiate the conversation,” Kurth added. “Adolescents who feel
they can talk to a parent tend to have better statistics in terms of
partner selection and protection against HIV and other sexually
transmitted infections.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/23cNLkc Pediatrics, online January 19, 2016.
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