AEGiS-06IAC: A comparison of alternate test site attendance in two cities under different HIV reporting policies.

6th International AIDS Conference


San Francisco, California, USA — June 20-23, 1990

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A comparison of alternate test site attendance in two cities under different HIV reporting policies.

Int Conf AIDS 1990 Jun 20-23; 6:331 (abstract no. Th.D.823)
Johnson WD, Sy FS, Miller JP; Univ of South Carolina, Columbia SC, USA

OBJECTIVE: To compare changes in attendance at two alternate HIV test sites (ATS) in Charleston, South Carolina (SC) and Augusta, Georgia (GA) after implementation of a statewide policy in SC beginning Jan 1, 1986 which requires mandatory reporting of seropositive results to the state health department. HIV testing is performed anonymously in neighboring Georgia.

METHODS: Demographics were gathered on 629 clients at the SC ATS and 348 clients at the GA ATS from May 1985 to Dec 1986. Chi-square analysis was used to compare changes in total number of clients tested and total number of positive tests between the two sites after the policy change in SC.

RESULTS: Changes in attendance were statistically different between the two sites both for total number of clients and for number of positive cases. Rates reported reflect 8 months of testing in 1985 (before mandatory reporting in SC) and 12 months of testing in 1986 (after). TABULAR DATA, SEE ABSTRACT VOLUME. HIV seroprevalence was higher among Charleston clients (20.5%) than among Augusta clients (13.8%).

CONCLUSION: Under mandatory reporting, the Charleston ATS experienced a significant decline in attendance, while attendance increased at the Augusta ATS. Two-thirds of clients seeking testing at the Georgia ATS are from SC. Without strong anti-discrimination laws, many people are unwilling to give their names to the state health department.

Keywords: AEGIS, HIV Seroprevalence, Public Policy, Cities, Mandatory Reporting, Mass Screening, Georgia, South Carolina, Georgia (Republic), Human, organization & administration, ICA6KWDaegis,hivseroprevalence,publicpolicy,cities,mandatoryreporting,massscreening,georgia,southcarolina,georgia(republic),human,organization&administration,ica6

900620
ThD823

Copyright © 1990 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.