Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 13, 2026

An Affordable HIV-1 Drug Resistance Monitoring Method for Resource Limited Settings
19:57

An Affordable HIV-1 Drug Resistance Monitoring Method for Resource Limited Settings

Published on: March 30, 2014

Why don't physicians test for HIV? A review of the US literature

Ryan C Burke1, Kent A Sepkowitz, Kyle T Bernstein

  • 1Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 346 Broadway, New York, NY 10013, USA. rburke@health.nyc.gov

AIDS (London, England)
|July 17, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Physicians face many barriers to offering routine HIV testing, including time constraints and training gaps. Addressing these issues is crucial for implementing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for HIV screening.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Infectious Disease Prevention
  • Medical Practice Barriers

Background:

  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidelines in 2006 recommending routine HIV testing in all US medical settings.
  • Despite recommendations, many physicians do not routinely offer HIV testing to patients.
  • Understanding physician-identified barriers is essential for improving HIV screening rates.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To synthesize current knowledge on the reasons why US physicians do not offer routine HIV testing.
  • To identify and compare barriers to HIV testing across different medical settings.

Main Methods:

  • A comprehensive literature review of published and unpublished data on HIV testing barriers was conducted.
  • Searches included PubMed, Google, conference abstracts, and expert consultations.
  • Studies were categorized into prenatal, emergency department, and other medical settings for comparative analysis.

Main Results:

  • Forty-one distinct barriers to HIV testing were identified across 17 reports.
  • Common barriers across all settings included insufficient time, complex consent, lack of training, patient acceptance issues, pretest counseling requirements, competing priorities, and inadequate reimbursement.
  • Specific barriers varied by setting, with more identified in prenatal and other medical settings compared to emergency departments.

Conclusions:

  • US physicians encounter significant policy, logistical, and educational obstacles to providing routine HIV testing.
  • Despite some setting-specific challenges, numerous barriers are common across diverse medical environments.
  • Overcoming these multifaceted barriers is necessary to achieve widespread implementation of CDC's HIV testing recommendations.
Abstract

More Related Videos

Comprehensive & Cost Effective Laboratory Monitoring of HIV/AIDS: an African Role Model23:56

Comprehensive & Cost Effective Laboratory Monitoring of HIV/AIDS: an African Role Model

Published on: October 31, 2010

Related Concept Videos

Effect of Hepatic Disease on Pharmacokinetics: Pathophysiologic Assessment and Liver Function Test01:22

Effect of Hepatic Disease on Pharmacokinetics: Pathophysiologic Assessment and Liver Function Test

In clinical practice, the direct measurement of hepatic blood flow to evaluate liver function presents significant challenges due to the intricate and specialized nature of the necessary techniques. Consequently, healthcare professionals often rely on empirical estimates derived from thorough patient examinations and liver function tests to gauge liver health. Among the tools at their disposal, the Child–Pugh and MELD scoring systems stand out for their ability to categorize and assess the...
Sexually Transmitted Infections01:26

Sexually Transmitted Infections

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are diseases transmitted primarily through unsafe sexual interactions. Bacteria, viruses, or parasites cause them and can result in severe health complications if untreated.ChlamydiaThe bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis is responsible for the disease Chlamydia, the most common STI in the United States. This peculiar pathogen requires human cells to reproduce, residing intracellularly. The initial infection often goes unnoticed because it typically does not...
Ethics in Research01:56

Ethics in Research

Today, scientists agree that good research is ethical in nature and is guided by a basic respect for human dignity and safety. However, this has not always been the case. Modern researchers must demonstrate that the research they perform is ethically sound.
Retrovirus Life Cycles01:10

Retrovirus Life Cycles

Retroviruses have a single-stranded RNA genome that undergoes a special form of replication. Once the retrovirus has entered the host cell, an enzyme called reverse transcriptase synthesizes double-stranded DNA from the retroviral RNA genome. This DNA copy of the genome is then integrated into the host’s genome inside the nucleus via an enzyme called integrase. Consequently, the retroviral genome is transcribed into RNA whenever the host’s genome is transcribed, allowing the retrovirus to...