Table 3.
Reasons for Declining Offered Testing by Study Arm
| Targeted | Universal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | (%) | N | (%) | ||
| Confidentiality | |||||
| Prefers anonymous testing | 8 | 0.5 | 21 | (0.8) | |
| Setting | |||||
| Doesn't want to interview/counseling | 414 | (25.7) | 697 | (25.1) | |
| Doesn't want to wait for ED testing | 67 | (4.2) | 115 | (4.1) | |
| Problems with followup notification* | 0 | (0.0) | 1 | (0.0) | |
| Doesn't want venipuncture* | 15 | (0.9) | 20 | (0.7) | |
| Wants rapid testing* | 11 | (0.7) | 8 | (0.3) | |
| Privacy of environment insufficient | 3 | (0.2) | 5 | (0.2) | |
| Prior testing | |||||
| Negative test < 3 months prior | 528 | (32.7) | 758 | (27.3) | |
| Negative test > 3 months prior | 382 | (23.7) | 536 | (19.3) | |
| Test in last month & results pending | 17 | (1.1) | 28 | (1.0) | |
| Blood donor < 3 months prior | 10 | (0.6) | 16 | (0.6) | |
| Blood donor > 3 months prior | 2 | (0.1) | 6 | (0.2) | |
| Deny risk& | |||||
| abstains from sex | 120 | (7.4) | 278 | (10.0) | |
| abstains from IDU | 60 | (3.7) | 115 | (4.1) | |
| Monogamous | 235 | (14.6) | 491 | (17.7) | |
| uses barrier methods | 17 | (1.1) | 28 | (1.0) | |
| uses clean needles | 2 | (0.1) | 2 | (0.1) | |
| Other reasons | |||||
| Too much pain/nausea/illness | 255 | (15.8) | 432 | (15.6) | |
| Alternative test planned | 44 | (2.7) | 58 | (2.1) | |
| Afraid/doesn’t want to know results | 28 | (1.7) | 37 | (1.3) | |
| HIV positive | |||||
| Already diagnosed HIV positive | 7 | (0.4) | 16 | 0.6) | |
Patients could indicate more than one reason for declining testing. Reasons were coded prospectively according to these a priori categories..
*
Relevant for early portion of testing program operating with conventional, non-rapid, testing
&
Reasons why the patient thought themselves not to be at risk