Factors Associated with HIV-Testing among African Americans: Analysis of the 2016 National Health Interview Survey

Abstract

African-Americans represent 12% of the total United States population, but account for more recent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnoses (44%), people estimated to be living with HIV disease (40%), and HIV-related deaths (44%) than any other racial/ethnic group in the United States. This paper examines the prevalence of HIV testing and its correlates among African Americans during the pre-exposure HIV prophylaxis era. Secondary analysis of the 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data was carried out using descriptive and logistic regression analyses to determine the prevalence of recent HIV testing and factors associated with HIV testing. Of the 33,028 individuals included in the Sample Adult Core, 3,777 (11.43%) were African Americans, the sample for this study. Among them, an estimated 2,050 respondents (54.3%) reported to have ever tested for HIV. Respondents aged 25 to 34 years of age were more likely to have ever tested for HIV compared to individuals aged 25 years or younger (OR: 2.47, P<0.001). Respondents who had a paid employment were more likely to have ever tested for HIV compared to those who were unemployed (OR: 1.74, P<0.05). There was no difference in HIV testing among the marital status categories. Since HIV testing is critical to improve prevention efforts, more research is needed to understand the characteristics of individuals who get tested for HIV to inform the design of innovative interventions to motivate younger adults and individuals from different marital status categories to seek HIV testing.