Recommendations and reality: perceived patient, provider, and policy barriers to implementing routine HIV screening and proposed solutions

In 2006, the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) released recommendations calling for routine HIV testing to be offered to those ages 13 to 64 as a standard of general health care. This recommendation included a plan to conduct HIV testing as part of a general consent. The reasoning and evidence for this recommendation is supported by experts, patients, and sponsored screenings by the CDC. The rationale behind this approach includes that knowledge of one's HIV status helps (1) infected individuals adopt risk-reduction behaviors and access to life-prolonging treatment and (2) uninfected individuals maintain behaviors that reduce their risk of becoming infected. This article discusses the perceived patient, provider, and policy barriers to implementing routine HIV screening and proposed solutions that can be part of a nurse-led contribution to develop and adopt innovative, patient-centered care models that can address the need for screening.