HIV Testing and Charlie Sheen

Researchers are studying the effect of the actors public announcement to see if it can be duplicated in other cases. Share on Pinterest When actor Charlie Sheen announced his HIV-positive status on NBCs Today Show, the world listened in stunned silence. Scientists are now investigating the influence of his disclosure on levels of HIV testing. About 1.2 million people in the United States are currently living with HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that, of those, 1 in 8 do not know that they have the disease. Because of the stigma attached to HIV, any event that prompts people to get tested must be capitalized upon, officials say. Charlie Sheens television declaration was one such event. Read more: Latest on HIV tests, vaccine >> Announcement sparks searches Sheen found fame acting in such films as "Platoon" and "Young Guns" as well as the television series "Two and a Half Men" and "Spin City." Following his interview in November 2015, Sheen became one of the most prominent celebrities who is publicly HIV-positive. His interview preceded a huge spike in online search queries for topics regarding HIV prevention and testing. This surge appeared even though neither Sheen nor official health agencies called for action. In April 2016, researchers from San Diego State University Graduate School of Public Health in California published a study in JAMA Internal Medicine . Their investigation examined the boost in internet traffic around the subject of HIV tests. They documented a rise in Google searches that included terms such as "tests," "testing," or "test," and "HIV." Led by research professor John W. Ayers, the team concluded that "Sheens disclosure may benefit public health by helping people learn more about HIV infection and prevention." One year later, Ayers set out to discover whether the publics behavior matched the jump in Internet activity. His teams findings are published this week in the journal Prevention Science. Read more: The history of HIV in the United States >> Does behavior mirror Internet traffic? OraQuick is the only rapid HIV test kit available for home use in the U.S. Ayers analysis centered on sales data for this product to see whether or not they correlated with the uptick in search traffic. Study co-author Eric Leas explains, "Our strategy allowed us to provide a real-world estimation of the 'Charlie Sheen effect on HIV prevention and contrast that effect with our past formative assessment using Internet searches." During the week of Sheens announcement, OraQuick sales almost doubled, hitting an all-time high. They remained significantly elevated for three weeks, with "8,225 more sales than expected." "In absolute terms, its hard to appreciate the magnitude of Sheens disclosure. However, when we compared Sheens disclosure to other traditional awareness campaigns the 'Charlie Sheen effect is astonishing," said study co-author Benjamin Althouse of the Institute of Disease Modeling. The increase in OraQuick sales was a surprising seven times larger than the sales usually associated with World AIDS Day - the largest and longest-running HIV prevention awareness event. Read more: Antibody research produces new hope for HIV treatments >>