Ob/Gyn Group Urges Routine HIV Tests for All Women
Recently, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released new recommendations for all ob/gyns: Encourage all women, especially minority women, to receive HIV tests.
Rates of HIV infection are much higher for African-American and Hispanic women as compared with those for white women. Sixty-four percent of women with HIV are black, even though blacks only make up about 13 percent of the U.S. population.
The ACOG believes that stigma is a major factor explaining why women are not being tested as often as they should be. “Physicians can explain to their patients that HIV screening is recommended for all adults now and that there are numerous benefits to being tested. We need to continue to destigmatize HIV screening and make it a part of routine care,” says Heather Watts, MD, a liaison member to ACOG’s Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women.
