[Promoting routine human immunodeficiency virus testing in primary care]

To promote human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing in the primary care setting and to describe patients' attitudes toward this practice.

A non-randomized intervention was conducted on five physicians of an urban primary care center attending patients aged 18-65 years old, who were scheduled to undergo blood tests for other reasons. The patients were systematically offered HIV blood testing if they reported having had sex without a condom with a person of unknown HIV status. Not being tested required active refusal. The intervention period was from October to December 2008 and the control period was from October to December 2007. The main variable was the difference in the number of HIV tests requested. The proportion of patients accepting the test was also analyzed.

Demographic factors were similar in patients in the two periods. The number of HIV tests increased from 3.7% (22/599) to 27.2% (212/780), p <0.001. A total of 209 patients were offered the HIV test. Their mean age was 45.6 years (SD 11.7), 141 were women (68%) and 11 were born outside Spain (5%). One hundred and ninety-five patients (93%) admitted the possibility of having been or being at risk. Of these patients, only three (1.5%), refused the HIV test.

Routine HIV testing in the primary care setting is feasible and few patients refuse to be tested.