HIV testing frequency guidelines are not being met says Glasgow University research
HIV testing frequency guidelines aren't being met in Scotland say researchers.
Gay men, including those thought to be at “high risk”, are not getting HIV tests often enough, according to new research.
The study was carried out by researchers at the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at the University of Glasgow.
It found that while national guidelines suggest all gay men should test annually for HIV and those “at higher risk” every three months, neither recommendation is being met. This study, is the first to explore the frequency of HIV testing in the UK. It found that fewer than one in five men reported having four or more tests in the last two years, while the authors estimated that only 54.9% of homosexual men test annually. Dr Lisa McDaid, the lead author of the study, said: “HIV testing is a core component of current HIV prevention, but despite substantial increases in the uptake of HIV testing in recent years, our results suggest gay men in the UK do not test frequently enough. “Furthermore, given that current guidelines suggest individuals at risk of HIV test as frequently as every three months – as well as after a risk event – and that men newly diagnosed with HIV are known to have been less frequent testers, there is a clear need to promote frequent testing as routine and address barriers to frequent testing accordingly.” Among the HIV testers, more than half reported that their most recent test was part of a regular sexual health check and over one third tested in response to a perceived risk event. The study notes that HIV prevention requires men to “incorporate increasingly complex understandings of transmission risks and adaptive behaviours into their sexual lives” and that there is currently no consensus on who “at risk” groups were. Overall 21.2% reported more than four HIV tests and 33.7% reported two to three tests in the last two years. The study also found that 56.7% tested for HIV as part of a regular sexual health check and 35.5% tested following a risk event.