HEALTH

RISK

BEHAVIORS

How Schools Can Support HIV 

Testing Among Adolescents

Getting tested for HIV is an important step toward prevention; 

however, testing rates among high school students are low. 

Schools are important partners in supporting HIV testing among 

adolescents. Because schools reach millions of students in grades 

9–12 every day, they are in a unique position to help educate 

students about HIV and link them to confidential health services 

that include HIV testing, counseling, and treatment.

Why should adolescents get tested for HIV?

Many adolescents engage in behaviors that 

put them at risk for getting HIV. Compared 

to other age groups, adolescents are 

among those least likely to know whether 

they have HIV. CDC recommends HIV 

testing for adolescents.2,3 It is important 

for adolescents to know their HIV status so 

they can take precautions to protect their 

health or take medicine to treat HIV if 

they have the virus. Taking HIV medicine 

every day can make the viral load 

(the amount of HIV in the blood) 

undetectable. Adolescents who get and 

keep an undetectable viral load have 

effectively no risk of transmitting HIV, and 

they also experience better health.

Many youth in the U.S. are living with HIV...

1in5 of all new HIV diagnoses are in young people 

aged 13–244

87 % of new HIV diagnoses are among young men, 

most of whom are gay or bisexual5

But often do not know their status...

Around

44% of young people with HIV do not know 

they have the virus6

Only

9%

of heterosexual high school students have 

ever been tested for HIV7

Only

14%

of lesbian, gay, and bisexual students have 

ever been tested for HIV7

WHY 

SCHOOLS?

1 SCHOOLS have 

direct contact 

with about

15.3

MILLION 

HIGH SCHOOL 

STUDENTS 

EVERY DAY1

during the most 

critical years 

of their social, 

physical, and 

intellectual 

development.

2 SCHOOLS play a key role 

in supporting HIV testing 

among students and 

linking them to confidential 

health services. 

3 SCHOOLS support and 

promote the health and 

safety of students and 

help them establish 

lifelong healthy behaviors.

@CDC_DASH

www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth

March 2020
Many students engage in behaviors 

that put them at risk...

19 % of sexually active high school students used 

alcohol or drugs before they last had sex7

46 % of sexually active high school students did 

not use a condom the last time they had sex7

How can schools encourage students to get tested for HIV?

1 Access and use health risk behavior data. 

• Access Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data on national, state, and local trends 

in HIV testing and health risk behaviors among high school students. 

• Use surveillance data to create school programs, policies, and practices.

2 Teach students about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

• Educate students about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, to support 

their likelihood of being tested.

• Enhance HIV prevention curricula by including information on locations and 

procedures for obtaining free or low-cost confidential testing and other 

health services. 

3 Connect students with health services that include HIV testing, 

counseling, and treatment.

• Increase awareness of student sexual health needs by providing medically accurate 

information to district and school staff, community partners, parents, and families.

• Raise student awareness of the need for and availability of health services.

• Establish a referral system that helps link students to youth-friendly 

healthcare providers.

4 Encourage students and their families to talk about HIV.

• Provide families with information and skills they need to support healthy attitudes, 

behaviors, and environments.

• Help families identify unique opportunities to have conversations with their students.

MORE INFORMATION

GYT: Get Yourself 

Tested Campaign for 

High Schools

www.cdc.gov/

healthyyouth/get_

yourself_tested

CDC’s GetTested

Locator Tool

gettested.cdc.gov

CDC Resources on 

Health Services for Teens

www.cdc.gov/

healthyyouth/

healthservices

Registries of EvidenceBased Programs for 

Reducing Youth Risk 

Behaviors

www.cdc.gov/

healthyyouth/

adolescenthealth/

registries.htm

Students who are 

TAUGHT ABOUT 

HIV IN SCHOOLS

are more likely to be 

tested for HIV.

References 

1. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Digest of Education Statistics. 2018. 

2. CDC. Revised recommendations for HIV testing of adults, adolescents, and pregnant women in health-care settings. MMWR 2006;55(RR-14):1-24.

3. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection: Screening. June 2019.

4. CDC. Diagnoses of HIV infection in the United States and dependent areas, 2018. HIV Surveillance Report 2018 (Preliminary) 2019;30.

5. CDC. Estimated HIV incidence and prevalence in the United States, 2010-2016. HIV Surveillance Supplemental Report 2019;24(1).

6. CDC. Vital Signs: HIV infection, testing, and risk behaviors among youths—United States. MMWR 2012;61(47):971-6.

7. CDC. Kann L, McManus T, Harris WA, et al. Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 2017. MMWR Surveillance Summary 2018;67(8);1-114.

RISK How Schools Can Support HIV Testing Among Adolescents