HIV seroprevalence among women opting out of prenatal HIV screening in Alberta, Canada: 2002-2004

Sabrina S Plitt; Ameeta E Singh; Bonita E Lee; Jutta K Preiksaitis

doi:10.1086/523730

HIV seroprevalence among women opting out of prenatal HIV screening in Alberta, Canada: 2002-2004

Clin Infect Dis. 2007 Dec 15;45(12):1640-3. doi: 10.1086/523730.

Authors

Sabrina S Plitt¹, Ameeta E Singh, Bonita E Lee, Jutta K Preiksaitis

Affiliation

¹ Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Canada.

PMID: 18190327
DOI: 10.1086/523730

Abstract

Alberta, Canada, uses an "opt-out" strategy for prenatal HIV testing. We examined demographic characteristics of and HIV seroprevalence among women opting out. The proportion of total specimens that were from women who opted out decreased from 4.3% in 2002 to 3.6% in 2004 (P<.001), and HIV seroprevalence among these specimens was 0.07%, which was 3.3 times higher than the HIV seroprevalence among specimens from women who opted in. Women opting out may have a higher HIV infection risk.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Alberta
Female
HIV Infections / diagnosis*
HIV Infections / epidemiology
HIV Seroprevalence*
Humans
Mass Screening
Pregnancy
Prenatal Care*
Refusal to Participate
Risk Factors