Background: While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends at least annual human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening for men who have sex with men (MSM), a large number of HIV infections among this population go unrecognized. We examined the association between disclosing to their medical providers (eg, physicians, nurses, physician assistants) same-sex attraction and self-reported HIV testing among MSM in New York City, New York.Methods: All men recruited from the New York City National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) project who reported at least 1 male sex partner in the past year and self-reported as HIV seronegative were included in the analysis. The primary outcome of interest was a participant having told his health care provider that he is attracted to or has sex with other men. Sociodemographic and behavioral factors were examined in relation to disclosure of same-sex attraction.Results: Among the 452 MSM respondents, 175 (39%) did not disclose to their health care providers. Black and Hispanic MSM (adjusted odds ratios, 0.28 [95% confidence interval, 0.14-0.53] and 0.46 [95% confidence interval, 0.24-0.85], respectively) were less likely than white MSM to have disclosed to their health care providers. No MSM who identified themselves as bisexual had disclosed to their health care providers. Those who had ever been tested for HIV were more likely to have disclosed to their health care providers (adjusted odds ratio, 2.10; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-4.38).Conclusions: These data suggest that risk-based HIV testing, which is contingent on health care providers being aware of their patients' risks, could miss these high-risk persons.

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HIV testing was low overall but higher for those with exposures to potential routine testing settings. Further expansion of testing in these settings would likely increase testing rates and may decrease new HIV infections among high-risk heterosexuals.

Sterile syringe access is an important means to reduce HIV risk, but many injection drug users (IDU) who obtain syringes from sterile sources continue to share syringes. We examined the factors associated with continuing syringe sharing in New York City. We recruited 500 active IDU in 2005 through respondent-driven sampling. In multiple logistic regression, not obtaining all syringes in the past year exclusively from sterile sources was associated with increased syringe sharing. Ensuring adequate syringe availability as well as engaging and retaining nonusers and inconsistent users in sterile syringe services may increase sterile syringe access and decrease syringe sharing.