title: A survey of a small sample of emergency department and admitted patients asking whether they expect to be tested for HIV routinely.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many US HIV-positive patients are unaware of their infection. Although there are multiple studies assessing the acceptance of testing, there are none that assess the patient's expectations of routine HIV testing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Through a prospective, cross-sectional, unfunded, convenience sample survey, we assessed the patient's expectation of testing at a regional medical center serving an indigent population. Also, we compared the providers' predictions of the proportion of patients expecting a test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 69 patients, 23% expected a test. The only factor that correlated with this was their desire to be tested (P = .004). Providers' (N = 59) mean prediction was that 21% of the patients expected a test (range: 0%-100%). The proportion of emergency department (ED) patients wanting a test was 52% (of 30) and internal medicine inpatients were 44% (of 39).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nearly a quarter of patients expected routine HIV testing. This finding should encourage a review of policies promoting HIV testing, especially within the ED.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Colton, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McAfee
authors.forename: Chester
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tung
authors.forename: Yaminah
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Espinosa-Silva
authors.forename: Munira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Khuteja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fatima
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Zhijun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pearce
mesh_terms: D002140:California; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012494:Sampling Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Emergency Department; HIV prevention; HIV test; HIV transmission