HIV Testing Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities -- United States, 1999

The percentage of Americans who report being tested for HIV has increased significantly over the past decade, but a considerable number of at-risk individuals have never been tested.

According to results from the most recent National Health Interview Survey, 31 percent of survey respondents reported HIV testing, up from 5 percent in 1987 and 26 percent in 1995. Of the subset of respondents at high risk for HIV infection (nearly 2 percent), over 70 percent reported having been tested, pointing to the success of targeted prevention and testing programs. This higher rate of testing among at-risk populations was found among all racial and ethnic groups.

However, study authors stress the critical need to reach the remaining 27 percent of at-risk individuals who have not been tested. The level of testing and reported motivations for testing varied by race and ethnicity, underscoring the need for carefully targeted strategies to encourage testing. Increasing the proportion of infected and at-risk individuals who know their HIV status is a primary focus of CDC's national strategy to cut the number of new infections in half by 2005.

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