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TORONTO — College students are reluctant to get tested for HIV because they fear being judged by others, according to a poster presented at the 16th International AIDS Conference.
In a survey of 491 students at York University, Toronto, 49 (10%) reported having been tested for HIV.
Two-thirds of the students reported having had unprotected sex in the previous 6 months, even though many were ignorant of their HIV status, said Trevor A. Hart, Ph.D., of the department of psychology at the university.
“In a country such as Canada, where access to medical care and HIV testing are readily available and cost nothing, these results are quite troubling,” Dr. Hart said in an interview.
The number of new HIV infections in Canada is high, about 2,500 new cases a year. But in a 2003 survey of Canadians over age 15, only 27% reported ever having been tested for HIV (excluding testing for the purposes of insurance, blood donation, and participation in research), according to a 2005 report by Public Health Agency Canada.
Dr. Hart and his colleagues decided to see if they could find out why their population of students was not being tested.
The students filled out a questionnaire in which they were asked about their sexual activities in the previous 6 months; their HIV testing histories and willingness to get tested; their concerns about being judged for getting an HIV test; and social anxiety.
Most of the students (80%) were female, and the mean age was 18 years, with a range of 17–24 years.
The results of the survey revealed that social anxiety and fear of being judged prevented the young adults from getting tested for HIV and learning what their HIV status was.
Surprisingly, students who were more socially anxious were more likely to be concerned about being judged about HIV testing by their siblings. They were also inhibited by friends, their physician, grandparents, coworkers, and God, Dr. Hart reported.
He added that primary care doctors have an important role to play in helping make sure that more youngsters know their HIV status.
To encourage HIV testing, physicians should ask patients if they are sexually active, and if so, ask if they know their HIV status. Physicians can explain that it's common for people to get tested for HIV and that being tested doesn't mean that the person did anything wrong. “It's like knowing your blood type, or when you got your last tetanus shot,” Dr. Hart said.
Doctors might also consider putting up posters or having pamphlets about HIV in their waiting rooms to normalize and destigmatize HIV testing, he added.
TORONTO — College students are reluctant to get tested for HIV because they fear being judged by others, according to a poster presented at the 16th International AIDS Conference.
In a survey of 491 students at York University, Toronto, 49 (10%) reported having been tested for HIV.
Two-thirds of the students reported having had unprotected sex in the previous 6 months, even though many were ignorant of their HIV status, said Trevor A. Hart, Ph.D., of the department of psychology at the university.
“In a country such as Canada, where access to medical care and HIV testing are readily available and cost nothing, these results are quite troubling,” Dr. Hart said in an interview.
The number of new HIV infections in Canada is high, about 2,500 new cases a year. But in a 2003 survey of Canadians over age 15, only 27% reported ever having been tested for HIV (excluding testing for the purposes of insurance, blood donation, and participation in research), according to a 2005 report by Public Health Agency Canada.
Dr. Hart and his colleagues decided to see if they could find out why their population of students was not being tested.
The students filled out a questionnaire in which they were asked about their sexual activities in the previous 6 months; their HIV testing histories and willingness to get tested; their concerns about being judged for getting an HIV test; and social anxiety.
Most of the students (80%) were female, and the mean age was 18 years, with a range of 17–24 years.
The results of the survey revealed that social anxiety and fear of being judged prevented the young adults from getting tested for HIV and learning what their HIV status was.
Surprisingly, students who were more socially anxious were more likely to be concerned about being judged about HIV testing by their siblings. They were also inhibited by friends, their physician, grandparents, coworkers, and God, Dr. Hart reported.
He added that primary care doctors have an important role to play in helping make sure that more youngsters know their HIV status.
To encourage HIV testing, physicians should ask patients if they are sexually active, and if so, ask if they know their HIV status. Physicians can explain that it's common for people to get tested for HIV and that being tested doesn't mean that the person did anything wrong. “It's like knowing your blood type, or when you got your last tetanus shot,” Dr. Hart said.
Doctors might also consider putting up posters or having pamphlets about HIV in their waiting rooms to normalize and destigmatize HIV testing, he added.
TORONTO — College students are reluctant to get tested for HIV because they fear being judged by others, according to a poster presented at the 16th International AIDS Conference.
In a survey of 491 students at York University, Toronto, 49 (10%) reported having been tested for HIV.
Two-thirds of the students reported having had unprotected sex in the previous 6 months, even though many were ignorant of their HIV status, said Trevor A. Hart, Ph.D., of the department of psychology at the university.
“In a country such as Canada, where access to medical care and HIV testing are readily available and cost nothing, these results are quite troubling,” Dr. Hart said in an interview.
The number of new HIV infections in Canada is high, about 2,500 new cases a year. But in a 2003 survey of Canadians over age 15, only 27% reported ever having been tested for HIV (excluding testing for the purposes of insurance, blood donation, and participation in research), according to a 2005 report by Public Health Agency Canada.
Dr. Hart and his colleagues decided to see if they could find out why their population of students was not being tested.
The students filled out a questionnaire in which they were asked about their sexual activities in the previous 6 months; their HIV testing histories and willingness to get tested; their concerns about being judged for getting an HIV test; and social anxiety.
Most of the students (80%) were female, and the mean age was 18 years, with a range of 17–24 years.
The results of the survey revealed that social anxiety and fear of being judged prevented the young adults from getting tested for HIV and learning what their HIV status was.
Surprisingly, students who were more socially anxious were more likely to be concerned about being judged about HIV testing by their siblings. They were also inhibited by friends, their physician, grandparents, coworkers, and God, Dr. Hart reported.
He added that primary care doctors have an important role to play in helping make sure that more youngsters know their HIV status.
To encourage HIV testing, physicians should ask patients if they are sexually active, and if so, ask if they know their HIV status. Physicians can explain that it's common for people to get tested for HIV and that being tested doesn't mean that the person did anything wrong. “It's like knowing your blood type, or when you got your last tetanus shot,” Dr. Hart said.
Doctors might also consider putting up posters or having pamphlets about HIV in their waiting rooms to normalize and destigmatize HIV testing, he added.