A recent study led by Brian Pence, assistant research professor in public policy, reveals that only approximately 20 percent of the most at-risk persons-including men who have sex with men and injection drug users-have been tested for HIV nationally.
"The [AIDS prevention] information is getting out there," Pence told Reuters in an interview Oct. 22. "High-risk groups are appropriately assessing their risk and are interested in testing and yet there's this gap between intention and action."
According to the research, which was published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, 27 percent of those at highest risk for infection said they planned to be tested for HIV, but only 11 percent actually got tested.
Approximately 420,000 Americans were infected with HIV, but not AIDS, at the end of 2005, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
On campus, Know Your Status, a student-led HIV testing and counseling organization, has been administering oral swab tests Mondays in the Bryan Center since Fall 2005.
Last year, Know Your Status tested about 400 students at Duke and Durham Technical Community College, said junior Caitlin Milligan, president of Know Your Status.
"A lot of students at Duke just don't perceive themselves [as] being at risk for HIV," she said.
She added that she hopes to change this attitude by testing here in Durham.
Pence's research reveals that minority females are most likely to be tested and white males are the least likely to be tested. Milligan, however, said Know Your Status appeals to a diverse range of people and has broader testing demographics than the national rates.
"Looking at the data from last year, more women than men were tested, although not significantly more," she said. "As far as race goes, the majority of the people tested were white, followed by black and then Asian."
But the group does much more than simply test students for HIV.
"The reason why Know Your Status is important is not just the HIV testing but also [because of] the counseling session that goes along with it," Milligan said.
She noted that she also hopes to reduce the negative image of getting tested and spread awareness by distributing Know Your Status T-shirts to students.
Pence said he was encouraged by the campus group testing for HIV.
"I think there's widespread agreement that increasing the number of people who know their status will help prevent new infections," he said.
Freshman Patrick Egan said the free HIV testing is an important campus resource.
"People need to know if they have [sexually transmitted diseases], so they can prevent spreading them," he said. He added that, however, he does not think he will get tested anytime soon.
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