Ti et al. BMC Public Health 2012, 12:189 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/189 R E S E A R C H A R T I C L E Open Access HIV testing and willingness to get HIV testing at a peer-run drop-in centre for people who inject drugs in Bangkok, Thailand Lianping Ti1,2, Kanna Hayashi2,3, Karyn Kaplan4, Paisan Suwannawong4, Eric Fu2, Evan Wood2,5 and Thomas Kerr2,5,6* Abstract Background: Regular HIV testing among people who inject drugs is an essential component of HIV prevention and treatment efforts. We explored HIV testing behaviour among a community-recruited sample of injection drug users (IDU) in Bangkok, Thailand. Methods: Data collected through the Mitsampan Community Research Project were used to examine correlates of HIV testing behaviour among IDU and to explore reasons for not being tested. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with willingness to access HIV testing at the drug-user-run Mitsampan Harm Reduction Centre (MSHRC). Results: Among the 244 IDU who participated in this study, 186 (76.2%) reported receiving HIV testing in the previous six months. Enrolment in voluntary drug treatment (odds ratio [OR] = 2.34; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.18 - 4.63) and the tenofovir trial (OR = 44.81; 95%CI: 13.44 - 149.45) were positively associated with having been tested, whereas MSHRC use (OR = 1.78; 95%CI: 0.96 - 3.29) was marginally associated with having been tested. 56.9% of those who had not been tested reported in engaging in HIV risk behaviour in the past six months. 181 (74.2%) participants were willing to be tested at the MSHRC if testing were offered there. In multivariate analyses, willingness to get HIV testing at the MSHRC was positively associated with ever having been to the MSHRC (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.42; 95%CI: 1.21 - 4.85) and, among females, being enrolled in voluntary drug treatment services (AOR = 9.38; 95%CI: 1.14 - 76.98). Conclusions: More than three-quarters of IDU received HIV testing in the previous six months. However, HIV risk behaviour was common among those who had not been tested. Additionally, 74.2% of participants were willing to receive HIV testing at the MSHRC. These findings provide evidence for ongoing HIV prevention education, as well potential benefits of incorporating HIV testing for IDU within peer-led harm reduction programs. Keywords: HIV testing, Injection drug use, Thailand, Peer-based interventions Background The HIV/AIDS epidemic remains a global challenge, with an estimated 33.3 million people living with HIV globally [1]. In many settings, the fastest growing epi- demics of HIV are occurring among people who inject drugs [2-4]. Currently, major public health efforts are underway to scale-up HIV testing [5], as HIV testing * Correspondence: uhritk@cfenet.ubc.ca 2British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada Full list of author information is available at the end of the article leads to early diagnosis, and knowledge of HIV-serosta- tus may minimize HIV transmission by reducing risky behaviour [6]. Further, testing can help increase access to treatment for injection drug users (IDU) and thereby reduce HIV-related morbidity and mortality, while also bolstering prevention efforts by reducing HIV-I RNA to undetectable levels in infected individuals [7]. Although there is much evidence to support efforts to increase the accessibility of HIV testing among IDU, there are many factors that mitigate the likelihood that IDU will get tested. Barriers such as the fear of an HIV- © 2012 Ti et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.