HIV Testing
The Student Health Service offers a walk-in clinic during the Fall and Spring semesters for confidential HIV antibody testing that is sponsored by the Department of Public Health. The test is confidential and the oral swab (NOT blood test) is performed during the pre-test counseling session in the privacy of the counselor’s office (please allot 30 minutes). HIV antibody test results are discussed during a post-test counseling session at the SHS two weeks after taking the HIV antibody test.
The HIV Educating and Testing Service is free. The walk-in clinic is staffed by certified peer educators who have gone through extensive training from the UCSF AIDS Health Project to provide appropriate pre and post HIV antibody testing and education.
The HIV antibody test counselor will ask personal information such as a name (no student ID number), birthday, social security number (optional), the county in which you live, and your zip code (for DPH statistical use). The test is painless and extremely accurate. As a confidential testing site, no records of the HIV antibody test will be recorded in the student’s medical record.
Students may receive a free HIV antibody blood test through Family PACT if it is ordered by your physician or nurse practitioner. The blood is drawn at the Student Health Service Laboratory in Area B and results are given by the provider within 2‑3 days of the blood draw. Your blood test lab result (either negative or positive) will be charted in a separate section in your patient record.
Confidential versus anonymous HIV testing
Confidential testing means that your personal information and test results will not be released to anyone other than you and the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
Anonymous testing means that your name is not recorded and no personal identifiers are documented when an individual is tested. The Student Health Services does not offer anonymous testing. You can locate an anonymous test site by calling 415‑502‑TEST (8378).
Department of Preventive Medicine – HIV Antibody Test
What is the HIV antibody test?
The HIV antibody test determines whether a person has been infected with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Disease). It is not a direct test for AIDS and does not tell if a person has AIDS. If infected with HIV, the body’s immune system builds up antibodies in an attempt to fight the virus. The test will measure the presence of these antibodies.
A negative test result means that no HIV antibodies were found at the time of the test. However, because it can take up to six months for HIV antibodies to develop (called the “window period”) it is important to understand that a recent exposure to HIV may not present itself on the test. A person concerned about unsafe behavior within the past six months may wish to test after the window period.
Why should I get tested?
- To know your HIV status
- If you are HIV positive, get into health care
- To better protect yourself and your partner
- to learn more about strategies for safer sex
- Should I get tested?
You may want to consider taking the HIV antibody test if:
You have or had vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone whose sexual or medical history you do no t know. - You have or had unprotected sex (e.g., sexual activity without latex or polyurethane condoms)
You share or have shared needles
- You have or had unprotected sex with a person with HIV or at risk for HIV
- You are a woman considering pregnancy
- You had a blood transfusion between 1978 to 1985
- You have been recently diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease (STD).
Deciding whether to be tested can be complicated. It is a very personal decision that should be made only after you understand what the results mean. Before you decide to be tested, you can talk to a health educator who can give you more information and address your questions and concerns
HIV ANTIBODY TESTING SERVICES AT THE STUDENT HEALTH SERVICE
There are three testing programs at SHS; they are:
1. Testing through the confidential HIV Education and Testing Service (oral swab) which is sponsored by the Department of Public Health
2. Testing through Family PACT (blood draw)
3. Testing through your health care provider (blood draw)
Each method is described briefly:
HIV Education and Testing Service
- The oral swab test is free
- Test results are available in two weeks
- Test results are NOT placed in the student’s medical record
- Information such as name, date of birth, county of residence, zip code, and social security number, will be given to the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Office of AIDS (as they supply the testing materials and lab services)
Family PACT
- The blood draw testing method is free
- The results are available in approximately 2-3 days
- The results WILL be placed in the student’s medical records within a restricted area of the chart
Provider-ordered HIV Antibody test:
- The test is $8 plus a $10 blood-draw fee
- The results are available within approximately 2-3 days
- The results WILL be placed in the student’s medical records within a restricted area of the chart
For Bay Area anonymous HIV antibody test sites, call 502-TEST (8378)
HOW DO I SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT?
- The HIV Antibody Walk-in Clinic days and times are posted at our website and at the Student Health Service
- Family PACT and provider-ordered HIV antibody tests can be ordered during an appointment with the physician or nurse practitioner
For more information about HIV/AIDS and/or the HIV Education and Testing Service at the SHS, contact Albert Angelo, MS Ed (aangelo@ sfsu.edu) and Ingrid Ochoa,, MPH, (iochoa@sfsu.edu), health educators; or Marian Yee (marianye@sfsu.edu), outreach coordinator.
