Consumer interest in community pharmacy HIV screening services

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pharmacy Practice
• Infectious Disease Screening

Background:

• Community pharmacies are accessible healthcare touchpoints.
• Expanding services to include human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening is a potential public health intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess consumer interest in pharmacist-led HIV screening.
• To identify barriers and facilitators for implementing HIV screening in community pharmacies.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was conducted with adult patients across five community pharmacies.
• Data were collected from November 2010 to August 2011.

Main Results:

• 35.8% of 380 participants expressed interest in pharmacy-based HIV screening.
• Younger age (18-29) and Black, non-Hispanic race were significant predictors of interest.
• Lack of perceived HIV risk was a primary barrier; free, rapid, confidential testing were key facilitators.

Conclusions:

• Significant interest exists for community pharmacy-based HIV screening, particularly among demographics disproportionately affected by HIV.
• Further exploration of expanding HIV screening services in pharmacies is warranted.