The IHS HIV Program supports

IHS Guidance

• The IHS HIV Program supports the CDC recommendations and (if possible given resource constraints and potential jurisdictional issues) suggests each facility attempt to move toward more routinized HIV testing.
• HIV prevalence has not been established in IHS or most AI/AN communities and thus (given other co-existing risk factors and health disparities), IHS recommends routine HIV testing.
• Although prenatal screening has improved IHS-wide, it still remains a priority. All pregnant women should be screened for HIV during pregnancy. Women should be screened a second time during their 3rd trimester if they are deemed at high risk, or the community prevalence of HIV is above 1%. (For GPRA purposes, if a patient visits a Service Unit 2 times or more during pregnancy, it is the Service Unites responsibility to offer HIV screening, or enter into RPMS that a prenatal HIV test has been offered in another health facility.)
• Any positive Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) should be followed by an STI/HIV screening panel, which is a newer Clinical Reporting System (CRS) measure within the IHS.
• According to recent data collection, the IHS tests more women than men – due in part to the priority of prenatal testing. However, the higher percentage of seropositivity remains among men. This is consistent with the general US population. IHS HIV Program recommends facilities to consider methods that will improve offering HIV testing to men.

Tribal Efforts

• Support for expanded HIV testing has commenced in some locations and is assisting healthcare facilities promote and raise awareness of this health maintenance testing. In some locations, Tribes have championed these efforts and approved Tribal resolutions supporting the revised CDC recommendations and IHS progression toward more routine HIV testing.
• Tribal Policy / Resolution Projects on expanded HIV Testing