1298. Analysis of Factors Influencing Consent for Opt-out HIV Screening Among High-Risk Groups Vulnerable to HIV in an Urban Emergency Department

BACKGROUND: The University of Illinois Hospital Emergency Department (ED) implemented routine, electronic medical record (EMR)-driven opt-out HIV screening in November 2014. Programmatic data indicated an average consent rate of 79%, similar to other ED HIV screening programs in the country. However, there is limited evidence on the role risk factors play on consent rate. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between patients’ risk factors for HIV and the likelihood of declining screening. METHODS: The ED screening algorithm has a nontargeted and targeted component qualifying individuals based on age and presence of risk factors, respectively. We retrospectively evaluated risk factors and consent responses of high-risk individuals identified by the targeted component of the EMR algorithm between January 2017 and March 2019. We performed a multivariate logistic regression analysis in R to explore the association between risk factors and the likelihood of declining screening. RESULTS: Of 47,197 screening eligible individuals, 27,044 were high-risk among whom 12% never consented. The majority of those who never consented had no history of intravenous (IV) drug use, homelessness, unsafe sexual practices, recent sexually transmitted infection (STI) and did not identify as homosexual, bisexual or transgender. Individuals who identified as homosexual, bisexual, or transgender (OR = 0.53), from high-risk zip code (OR = 0.77), with history of IV drug use (OR = 0.43), and with recent STI (OR = 0.60) were found to be significantly less likely to never consent compared with their counterparts. Also, patients who were male (OR = 1.14), White (OR = 1.38), Asian (OR = 1.57), Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native (OR = 1.44) were significantly more likely to never consent compared with their counterparts. CONCLUSION: Our results show that patients at high risk for HIV consent at higher rates for HIV screening in an opt-out setting. These findings suggest that while educational efforts on the importance of testing may have been successful in patients at the highest risk, additional efforts are needed to improve awareness among those who may not self-identify or be identified by medical providers as being at risk for HIV and reinforce the importance of universal screening. [Image: see text] DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.