A new report released by the Public Health Management Corporation this month found that about one-third of Philadelphians were tested for HIV in 2010, with testing most common in African Americans and those living in poverty.
The data, drawn from PHMC’s Community Health Data Base 2010 Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey, revealed that 30.4 percent of Philadelphians over age 18 were tested for the disease last year.
Through the entire Southeastern Pennsylvania region, about 21.5 percent of adults — or 619,000 people — were tested last year, an increase from 18 percent in 2008.
Testing last year was more common in Philadelphia than in the four surrounding counties, with rates at 20.8 percent, 15.4 percent, 14.7 percent and 13.8 percent in Delaware, Bucks, Montgomery and Chester counties, respectively.
Testing in 2010 in the region was highest among African Americans, about 41.2 percent of whom were tested, compared with 37.5 percent of Latinos, 16.2 percent of Asians and 13.9 percent of whites.
Testing was also more common — 34.9 percent — in those living below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, compared with 18.4 percent of those above that level.
Rates of testing in 2010 decreased with education, with 29 percent of those with less than a high-school education tested, compared with 14.9 percent of those with post-college schooling.
Age was also a factor, as older adults were more likely to not have been tested in 2010 than younger individuals.
About 35 percent of those 18-39 were tested last year, compared with 20.7 percent of those 40-49, 15.7 percent of people 50-59, 10.3 percent of those 60-74 and 8.3 percent of those 75 and older.
Similarly, older adults in the region were more likely to have never been tested for HIV throughout their lifetime.
Eighty-three percent of those over 75 have never received an HIV test, compared with 71.2 percent of those 60-74, 53.8 percent of those 50-59, 37.4 percent of people 40-49, and 29.5 percent of people under 39.
“I would say the most surprising thing is the percentage of older adults who have never been tested,” said Francine Axler, Community Health Data Base Project director. “Given that persons 50 and older make up a significant percentage of new HIV cases, it is surprising that so many of this population have not been tested.”
Throughout the region, 48.4 percent of adults, or about 1.4-million people, have never been tested for HIV. In Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties, more than 50 percent of adults were never tested, while that figure stands at about 38.5 percent of adults in Philadelphia.
There were also differences among race, as 57 percent of whites and 50.6 percent of Asians in the region reported never having an HIV test, while 27.2 percent of blacks and 28.6 percent of Latinos were never tested.
Axler said the data can be utilized to tailor messages about HIV testing to populations where testing rates are lacking.
“It can certainly be used for advocacy and outreach efforts,” she said. “Particularly with the older-adult community, a lot of doctors don’t address these issues with their older patients and they should be. We need to be doing more outreach and raising awareness about the importance of regular testing.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].