When doctors recommend HIV screenings, young people are more likely to follow through.
A new study in the February edition of the Journal Pediatrics shows less than a quarter of teens and young adults get tested for HIV, with the rate holding steady for high school students between 2005 and 2013. Young adult women actually experienced a decline in testing rates between 2011 and 2013.
Just less than half of the teens and young adults living with HIV have been diagnosed.
Of the teens and young adults that were tested for HIV, most of those did so based on their doctor’s recommendation. Researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they plan to spread the word to doctors who work with young people, so more of them will screen their patients for the disease.
This story was updated on January 25, 2016 to clarify the specific dates and age groups that were tested.