Study: rural residents less likely to get HIV testing - Entrepreneur Generations

 According to a new study, people who live in rural areas are less likely to have received an HIV test than their urban counterparts, both in the past year and over the course of their lifetimes. That's worrisome because rural America is experiencing an increased incidence of HIV, especially in the South and Midwest.

The research was based on data from the 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which is administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Out of the 250,579 respondents, 24.5 percent of urban residents said they had received an HIV test within the past year, compared to 20.2 percent of rural residents. Meanwhile, 26.9 percent of urban residents reported having ever had an HIV test, compared to 21.5 percent of rural residents.

The researchers also dug into where people tend to get HIV tests. In rural areas, people tended to get tested in hospitals, emergency rooms, and clinics and less likely to get tested in their doctor's office.

The study's authors conclude that rural medical providers should routinely offer HIV testing to patients, and that "targeted interventions are needed to remove structural barriers in rural communities such as long distances to clinics and low availability of free HIV testing at clinics serving the un- or under-insured."

The authors note that the study's accuracy is limited by missing data from respondent surveys, unwillingness to self-report, and general limitations of gathering data on people who are minors, homeless, in the military, in prison, or in nursing homes.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2nBaOXF Study: rural residents less likely to get HIV testing - Entrepreneur Generations

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