Black Men Who Have Sex with Men and Lifetime HIV Testing: Characterizing the Reasons and Consequences of Having Never Tested for HIV

HIV testing remains a critical point of entry to HIV treatment services and now biomedical prevention as well. Yet despite the high HIV prevalence among Black men who have sex with men (MSM), insufficient attention has been given to factors associated with those Black MSM in the United States who have never received an HIV test in their lifetime. Promoting Our Worth, Equality, & Resilience (POWER) is a cross-sectional observational study that recruited Black MSM at Black Pride events across six cities in the United States from 2014 to 2017. Participants completed an anonymous questionnaire and were offered free, confidential HIV testing. Of the 4174 Black MSM without a prior HIV diagnosis, 404 (9.68%) had never tested for HIV (mean age = 31.03 years). Lower education and greater internalized homophobia were associated with never having tested for HIV. Higher age (AOR = 1.05, 95%, 1.02–1.07) and assumption of HIV-positivity (AOR = 3.24, 95% CI 1.53–6.84) were both associated with increased odds of an HIV-positive test result (n = 119; 36%). To compare, HIV prevalence among Black MSM who had received at least one HIV test before study participation was 23%. While a minority of Black MSM had never received an HIV test, this group had a significantly higher likelihood of HIV infection. Alternative HIV testing strategies are needed to facilitate HIV testing initiation among Black MSM for whom conventional HIV testing modalities are insufficient.