Targeted Media Messages Promote Free and Low-Cost Testing Services

New Partnership with the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) Supports Providers with Materials in Clinics to Urge Patients to Test for HIV

Free In-Store HIV Testing Offered in Select Walgreens Stores as part of an Ongoing Partnership

MENLO PARK, CA, June 25, 2014 – Greater Than AIDS, a leading national public information response to the domestic AIDS epidemic, has released new targeted media messages urging Americans to get tested for HIV as part of efforts coinciding with National HIV Testing Day (June 27). A new partnership with the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) places materials in clinics to support providers in HIV outreach, and an ongoing partnership with Walgreens offers free HIV Testing in select pharmacies.

By profiling real-life stories of people who got tested –including both those with positive and negative results – the I Got Tested campaign highlights the importance of knowing one’s status regardless of the outcome, routinizing testing, and reducing stigma. Media ads appearing throughout June promote free and low-cost testing in communities by promoting hotlines and web-based resources provided by departments of health and agencies and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Of the more than 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S, an estimated one in six, or more than 180,000 people, does not know they are positive. Moreover, one-third of those who test HIV positive are diagnosed so late in the course of their infection that they develop AIDS within a year. For many, the delay in diagnosis and linkage to care denies them the benefit of life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART). According to the CDC, only one in four people with HIV in this country has their virus “under control” with treatment. Early diagnosis and treatment saves lives AND is known to reduce the spread of HIV.

“Despite overwhelming evidence that early diagnosis and treatment play an important role both in the health of those who are positive and in reducing the spread of HIV, many Americans at highest risk for infection still have not been tested,” said Tina Hoff, Senior Vice President and Director of Health Communication and Media Partnerships at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a co-founding partner of Greater Than AIDS. “This campaign is about helping to reduce the stigma surrounding HIV testing, to encourage patients to ask their providers to get tested, and to connect people with services in their communities.”

Public service announcements, including billboards and transit postings appear throughout June, with over 10,000 placements across the country in 40 priority markets, including: Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Oakland, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.  Select campaign placements are supported by the Georgia Department of Public Health, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Texas Department of State and Health Services and Virginia Department of Health. Other Greater Than AIDS media partners are extending the reach of messages on other platforms, including radio, TV and digital. To view all creative assets, visit greaterthan.org/i-got-tested.