The windowless white van that's suspiciously parked on the side of the road may not be what it appears to be. Mobile HIV testing units that provide near-instant results are one of the few effective ways to pan active, young men and women for HIV, when all else fails. It's fast, convenient—and the only way some young adults will ever get tested.
On November 5, 2011, I joined a friend to go out on the “Broadway Crawl,” the unofficial tour of gay dive bars located on Long Beach's East Broadway, a local hub and main street of gay and lesbian activity in the city. We saw an unmarked parked white van with workers who were offering anyone off the street $90 cash, just to take an HIV test. We obliged. To my surprise, my friend tested negative and I tested positive for HIV. I read the nurse's eyes and saw the large red plus sign before he could say anything. Before then, I had consistently found excuses to avoid getting tested every time the opportunity presented itself. Had they not offered a cash reward, or had they not been instantly available, I probably never would've gotten tested in time.
I continued with my night escapades as usual with a forced smile, as I was dying inside. What else could I do?
I left with nothing but a small scrap of paper with four or five relatively vague local HIV resources. I got my $90, but the bigger reward was the massive wake up call that led me to make drastic changes in my life in order to live a longer life. Mobile HIV testing units that offer rapid HIV results are the only reason I am alive today.
Whoever conceived the pay-for-testing scheme is a genius. It reaches into the depths of reckless single nightlife, and pulls out the ones who are the least likely to ever get tested. Like most gay men, I was at risk, yet I put off taking an HIV test because I was afraid of the results. I was young, dumb and practiced the toxic alchemy of mixing drugs and casual sex. Taking responsibility for my actions did not compute in my head at the time. But that's where mobile testing units come in. Social workers, nurses and volunteers that run mobile HIV testing units aren't waiting for anything. They're actively finding infected individuals in their own turf.
On June 27, Fort Myers, Florida opened its first HIV mobile testing unit. The McGregor Clinic staff offers HIV results in three minutes. On the same day, Washington D.C. Is hoping to combat its record-breaking number of HIV infections by deploying free screening centers and mobile units. In fact, the chance of being infected with HIV in Washington, D.C. is 1-in-13. In Nevada, The Southern Nevada Health District and AIDS Healthcare Foundation will be launching a mobile testing unit that day. A similar mobile testing unit will be launched in Atlanta to provide over 150 rapid HIV tests. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta suffers from a worse rate of new HIV infections than third world nations like Zimbabwe. All these efforts were all launched on June 27 to coincide with National HIV Testing Day.
Other places are going the extra mile, with special admissions, advising, and financial aid areas. In Houston, the Bee Busy Wellness Center is hosting a mobile unit to administer free HIV testing and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) counseling.
The role of a mobile HIV testing unit is often understated. “Street-based and venue-based outreach are done by engaging the focus population in their own environment, such as a particular street, neighborhood, hot spot, or venue (e.g., a bar, hotel, or community center),” wrote the CDC in Implementing HIV Testing in Nonclinical Settings. “Outreach workers, who may include HIV testing providers, aim to reach the focus population with key messages about HIV and HIV testing. HIV testing services may also be offered in conjunction with street- and venue-based outreach, if appropriate, and some agencies will bring a mobile testing unit, such as a van or tent, to provide HIV testing for the focus population.”
Across the Atlantic Ocean, mobile outreach programs are doing the same. Recently in Sierra Leone, a bus manned with five social workers and six junior staff, a nurse, a driver, and two security personnel was launched to provide youth with free HIV counseling and testing. There, many youth infected with HIV frequently end up living on the streets in poverty. South African researchers found that HIV counseling and testing (HCT) programs are linked to better HIV care. “In this mobile HCT setting, patients offered POC CD4 testing as part of the HCT services were more likely to visit a referral clinic after testing, suggesting rapid CD4 testing technology may improve linkage to HIV care,” researchers concluded. “Future research can evaluate options for adjusting HCT services if POC CD4 testing were included permanently, as well as the cost-effectiveness of the POC CD4 testing compared to other approaches for improving linkage of care.” The HIV bus is a novel idea that could help save men and women in struggling communities.
If you are sexually active, do yourself a favor and take advantage from a mobile testing unit near you. It could mean the difference between life and death. But mobile testing units can only do so much. As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. You can't force people to test themselves and know their status, but mobile testing units make it more convenient than ever. Schedule a mobile HIV testing unit at your next event.