Unknown HIV Status in the Emergency Department: Implications for Expanded Testing Strategies

"I Didn't Know What They're Gonna Do to Me: So That's Why I Said No": Why Youth Decline HIV Testing in Emergency Departments

Youth between the ages of 13 and 24 account for over 20% of new HIV diagnoses in the United States but are the least likely age group to be HIV tested in healthcare settings including the emergency department. This is in part due to the fact that almost 50% of youth decline testing when offered. We elucidated youth patients' perspectives on barriers to and facilitators of routine HIV testing of youth in an urban emergency department setting. Thirty-seven patients aged 13-24 years were recruited from the pediatric and adult emergency departments at a high-volume hospital in New York City from August 2019 to March 2020. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with all participants. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and transcripts were coded using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Youths' main reasons for declining HIV testing when offered included low risk perception, privacy concerns, HIV-related stigma, and low levels of HIV-related knowledge. Participants' responses suggested that HIV educational materials provided when testing is offered may be insufficient. Participants recommended providing additional HIV education and better incorporating HIV testing into the emergency department routine to increase testing among youth. Efforts are needed to help youth recognize their own HIV risk and increase their HIV-related knowledge. This may be accomplished by providing youth with additional educational materials on HIV, possibly via tablet-based interventions or other methods that may enhance privacy, combined with discussions with healthcare providers. Such efforts may help increase HIV testing acceptance among youth seen in the emergency department.

Provider Perspectives on Barriers to Routine HIV Testing of Adolescent and Young Adult Patients in Emergency Department Settings

HIV testing rates among US youth aged 13-24 years are sub-optimal, with high rates of missed testing opportunities in emergency departments (EDs). We assessed barriers to routine HIV testing of youth in urban ED settings from the perspective of healthcare providers. Ten physicians and nurses were recruited from the pediatric and adult EDs at a high-volume hospital in New York City, USA to complete in-depth interviews to provide their perspectives on barriers to routine HIV testing of youth ages 13 to 24 in EDs. Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide with questions and probes. All interviews were conducted via Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were coded independently by two researchers using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Participants often offered HIV testing to youth in the ED based on their perceptions of patients' HIV risk, with pediatric providers sometimes discouraging adolescents they perceived to be at low HIV risk from testing. Participants cited other priorities, logistics of blood-based testing, and discomfort discussing HIV as other reasons for not offering HIV testing to all youth in the ED. Efforts are needed to encourage providers to offer HIV testing to all youth regardless of perceived risk, as the ED often serves as youths' only point of contact with the healthcare system. Emphasis on this and the importance of early detection, along with institutional change, clear guidance, and support for the testing process may help increase youth testing and avoid missed HIV diagnosis opportunities.

Automated Substance Use/Sexual Risk Reporting and HIV Test Acceptance Among Emergency Department Patients Aged 13-24 Years

Despite federal guidelines, many adolescents and emerging adults are not offered HIV testing by their healthcare providers. As such, many-including those who may be at high-risk for contracting HIV given their sexual and/or substance use risk-are not routinely tested. The current study examines sexual risk and substance use among emergency department patients aged 13-24 years (n = 147), who completed an automated screening as part of a tablet-based intervention designed to increase HIV testing. Twenty seven percent (n = 39) of participants chose to test for HIV after completing the tablet-based intervention. Among this sample, sexual risk was a significant independent predictor of HIV testing (χ2 = 16.50, p < 0.001). Problem substance use (e.g. trying but failing to quit) also predicted testing (χ2 = 7.43, p < 0.01). When considering these behaviors together, analyses indicated that the effect of problem substance use (ß = 0.648, p = 0.154) on testing is explained by sexual risk behavior (ß = 1.425, p < 0.01). The study's findings underscore the value of using routine automated risk screenings to collect sensitive data from emergency department patients, followed by computer-based HIV test offers for adolescent youth. Our research indicates tablet-based interventions can facilitate more accurate reporting of sexual behavior and substance use, and can also potentially increase HIV test uptake among those at risk.

Attitudes and Perceived Barriers to Routine HIV Screening and Provision and Linkage of Postexposure Prophylaxis and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Among Graduate Medical Trainees

New York City is the metropolitan area in the United States with the highest number of new HIV diagnoses nationwide. The End-The-Epidemic (EtE) initiative calls for identifying persons with HIV who remain undiagnosed, linking and retaining persons living with HIV to maximize viral suppression, and facilitate access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for patients at increased risk of HIV. HIV screening represents the first step to both the primary and secondary HIV prevention cascades. We conducted an online, anonymous, cross-sectional survey of residents at all stages of training within four residency programs at one institution in Northern Manhattan between August 2017 and August 2018. All internal medicine, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology trainees, and pediatrics were invited to complete the survey via email. Of 298 eligible trainees, 142 (48%) completed the survey. Most trainees were aware of the HIV testing law and agreed that HIV testing was their responsibility, but few successfully screened most of their patients. Most trainees were not knowledgeable about non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) or PrEP, but felt that it was important to provide these services across settings. Barriers to HIV, nPEP, and PrEP varied across specialties. Ending the HIV epidemic will require efforts across clinical specialties. In this survey from an EtE jurisdiction, most trainees felt that it is important to provide HIV prevention services in most settings; however, their knowledge and comfort with HIV prevention services other than testing were low. Barriers varied across specialties, and developing specialty-specific materials for trainees may be beneficial.