Interventions that increase the intention to seek voluntary HIV testing in young people: a review

ABSTRACT

Young people 15–24 years old represent 39% of new HIV infections globally. However, they are the least likely age demographic to seek HIV testing and the most likely to be unaware of their HIV status. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to identify interventions that increase either rates of HIV testing or intentions to seek HIV testing in young people 10–24 years old. In total, 1601 manuscripts were systematically examined and five manuscripts were included in the final review. Two common themes identified in the interventions were education and test delivery methods. Educational programs were found to be effective when delivered in classroom or entertainment-based formats. Health providers offering testing and home testing increased the rate of testing. Additional research is needed on programs aimed at young people not enrolled in schools, interventions that measure testing rates, and educating healthcare providers about offering HIV tests to young people.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV testing
• intent to test
• young people
• adolescents
• intervention

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr Patricia Cruz and Dr Richard Tandy for their input in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The study was partly funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) under award number R01HD075050.