Utah high school students are pretty savvy when it comes to knowledge about the virus that causes AIDS and how it's contracted.
But a recent poll shows they're not so sure about where they can obtain confidential AIDS testing.The poll was commissioned by the state Department of Health and demonstrates a general misunderstanding about the confidentiality of tests, said pollster Bruce Bell.
Bell, who owns a local public relations firm, interviewed 20 students from each of a dozen Wasatch Front high schools earlier this spring. The goal was to get a feel for how knowledgeable high school students are about the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, which causes AIDS.
The poll results are designed to be used by the Health Department, in conjunction with a grant from the Centers for Disease Control, to craft an educational program for high school students.
Bell said he was "pleasantly surprised" by how informed the students were, given the restrictions the state Board of Education has put on teachers dealing with sex education. Teachers are, for the most part, limited to promoting abstinence and are prohibited from talking about the use of condoms.
"Most of the material (the CDC) puts out nationally is unacceptable here," said Bell. "So we've decided to concentrate on educating them about the disease itself."
All the students questioned knew what the virus was and nearly all knew it can be transmitted through sexual intercourse, blood transfusions or through sharing needles between intravenous drug users.
They were less sure, however, of where they could go for confidential testing if they believed they were at risk.
Six percent thought they could obtain confidential testing through a family physician and another 30 percent said it could be obtained at local hospitals.
Just 5 percent mentioned that the Health Department provides confidential testing.
The first two answers are wrong and could have serious consequences, said Rebecca Fronberg, a health educator in the department.
"Doctors' files can be subpoenaed and insurance companies often are given access to the files as part of the application process," she said, pointing out that insurance companies and their employees often have no confidentiality constraints.
And it wasn't long ago, she said, that insurance companies would deny coverage to applicants who sought AIDS testing, regardless of the results.
"That isn't supposed to happen anymore, but you have to realize that this disease and those who have it are discriminated against," she said.
State records, however, are protected from court orders and other invasions of confidentiality. The state operates nine facilities statewide for testing purposes, she said.
Fronberg saidmost physicians will not test a minor without parental consent, while state tests are available to anyone regardless of age.