HIV testing sites' communication about adolescent confidentiality: potential barriers and facilitators to testing.

Purpose: This study sought to evaluate HIV testing locations in New York City in terms of staff communication of confidentiality policies for adolescent clients.

Method: Using the New York State Directory of HIV Counseling and Testing Resources as a sampling frame, this study made telephone contact with 164 public HIV testing locations in New York City and used a semistructured interview to ask questions about confidentiality, parental permission, and parent access to test results.

Results: At 48% of locations, either HIV testing was not offered or we were unable to reach a staff member to ask questions about testing options and confidentiality.