Concurrence of drug users' self-report of current HIV status and serotest results

This study examines the concurrence of drug users' self-reports of current HIV status with serotest results. The analyses are based on data obtained from face-to-face interviews with 7,256 out-of-treatment injection drug and/or crack users in 10 sites that participated in the Cooperative Agreement for AIDS Community-Based Outreach/Intervention Research Program (funded by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse). Although the degree of concurrence between HIV-negative individuals self-reports of their current HIV status and their serotest results was high (specificity, 99%), this was not the situation for individuals who tested positive for HIV (sensitivity, 44%).