Acceptability of the opportunistic search for human immunodeficiency virus infection by serology in patients recruited in Primary Care Centres in Spain

Objective: To assess the acceptability of opportunistic search for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).Design: Cross-sectional, observational study.Location: Primary Care Centres (PCC) of the Spanish National Health Care System.Participants: patients aged 18 to 65 years who had never been tested for HIV, and were having a blood test for other reasons.Recorded variables: age, gender, stable partner, educational level, tobacco/alcohol use, reason for blood testing, acceptability of taking the HIV test, reasons for refusing to take the HIV test, and reasons for not having taken an HIV test previously. A descriptive, bivariate, multivariate (logistic regression) statistical analysis was performed.Results: A total of 208 general practitioners (GPs) from 150 health care centres recruited 3,314 patients. Most (93.1%) of patients agreed to take the HIV test (95% CI: 92.2-93.9). Of these patients, 56.9% reported never having had an HIV test before because they considered not to be at risk of infection, whereas 34.8% reported never having been tested for HIV because their doctor had never offered it to them. Of the 6.9% who refused to take the HIV test, 73.9% considered that they were not at risk. According to the logistic regression analysis, acceptability was positively associated to age (higher among between 26 and 35 year olds, OR= 1.79; 95% CI: 1.10-2.91) and non-smokers (OR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.01-1.93). Those living in towns with between 10,000 and 50,000 inhabitants showed less acceptance to the test (OR= 0.57; 95% CI: 0.40-0.80). The HIV prevalence detected was 0.24%Conclusions: Acceptability of HIV testing is very high among patients having a blood test in primary care settings in Spain. Opportunistic search is cost-effective. (c) 2015 Elsevier Espana, S.L.U