In 2006, about half of adults in the U.S. (48%) say they have been tested for HIV at some point, including about one in five (19%) who say they’ve been tested in the past year. Reported testing is most common among those ages 18-39 (60%) and ages 40-64 (51%); people ages 65 and older are the least likely to say they’ve been tested (21%). The share of non-elderly adults who say they’ve ever been tested increased slowly but steadily from 43% in 1997 to 55% in 2004, but has since leveled off. The most common reason people report for not being tested is that they don’t feel at risk.
African Americans, and to a somewhat lesser extent, Latinos, seem to have gotten the message that HIV testing is important. Both groups are much more likely than whites to say they have been tested for HIV in the last year, and they are more likely than whites to say that HIV testing should be a “very important” priority when it comes to HIV prevention in the U.S. In addition, African Americans are more likely than whites to say that spending more money on HIV testing in the U.S. will lead to meaningful progress in slowing the epidemic.
Stigma around HIV testing is not a concern for most people (62% say that finding out they had an HIV test would make no difference in how people they know would think of them); still, about one in five (21%) say they believe people would think less of them if they found out they had been tested.
Two-thirds of the public believes that HIV testing should be treated just like routine screening for other diseases, while about a quarter say it should require special procedures, such as written permission from the patient.
For more information about public opinion on HIV/AIDS, see:
Public Opinion on the Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic
http://www.kff.org/spotlight/hivglobal/index.cfm
Public Opinion on the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the United States
http://www.kff.org/spotlight/hivus/index.cfm
Attitudes About Stigma and Discrimination Related to HIV/AIDS
http://www.kff.org/spotlight/hivstigma/index.cfm
The Public's Knowledge and Perceptions About HIV/AIDS
http://www.kff.org/spotlight/hiv/index.cfm
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