Factors Influencing Uptake of Rapid HIV and Hepatitis C Screening Among Drug Misusing Adult Emergency Department Patients: Implications for Future HIV/HCV Screening Interventions

In this randomized, controlled trial among 957 English- or Spanish-speaking drug misusing adult emergency department (ED) patients, we determined if a tailored brief intervention (BI) increased uptake of rapid HIV/HCV screening, and identified factors associated with greater screening uptake. Rapid HIV/HCV screening uptake was greater in the control than the BI arm (45 vs. 38 %; p < 0.04). Screening uptake depended on elapsed study time and which research staff member offered testing. In the control arm, uptake was lowest for those spending < 30 or a parts per thousand yen90 min in the study. In the BI arm, screening uptake generally increased over time. Tailored BI content specifically addressing participant HIV/HCV knowledge, HIV/HCV risk behaviors, or need for HIV/HCV screening was not associated with greater screening uptake. These study findings suggested factors that should be considered when designing future ED-based screening initiatives, such as elapsed study time, who offers testing, and the content of interventions.