Raise Awareness on National HIV Testing Day
Tools Help FPs Integrate Routine Testing, Educate Patients
June 20, 2024, News Staff — About 40% of new HIV infections in the United States come from people who have not been diagnosed and don’t know they carry the virus. Family physicians can help reduce this alarming statistic by offering routine, opt-out screening to all patients between 13 and 64 years at least once, and at least annually for patients at high risk, the CDC recommends.
The AAFP is highlighting this key role family physicians play in increasing HIV testing rates and reducing stigma by partnering with the CDC in the Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign. Members are invited to join the effort by raising awareness on National HIV Testing Day, June 27.
Members can bolster these efforts using several Academy resources that assist with HIV screening and prevention, as well as with care for patients who have HIV:
- The Sexually Transmitted Infections page offers an STI screening practice manual, a guide to taking accurate sexual histories and other resources.
- An Adult Medicine Self-Study CME course includes a session on HIV screening and prevention.
- The American Family Physician collection on HIV/AIDS addresses screening, prevention, patient education and more.
In addition, the CDC’s Clinical Testing Guidance for HIV page offers a waiting room poster, education for patients and their partners, and a guide for integrating routine patient with suggestions for starting conversations about routing HIV screening with patients.
Finally, National HIV Testing Day social media resources make it easy to raise awareness and reduce stigma in English and Spanish.