Student Health Services offered free, rapid HIV testing from the Long Beach Health Department’s mobile unit on campus yesterday.
Rosario Rivas, a health educator for the Long Beach Health Department, said that more students get tested for HIV during the “party seasons.”
“The number of students who get tested varies each month, but we’re more busy after spring break and times like Valentine’s Day,” Rivas said.
Rivas said that students are more likely to have sexual encounters during times that involve heavy drinking, which can lead to unprotected sex.
Rapid HIV testing takes around 25 minutes. First, students fill out a questionnaire regarding their sexual history. Then, students are tested using a sample of their saliva from an oral swab.
While students are waiting for their test results, health professionals counsel them about at-risk behavior and provide information about safe sex.
If students test preliminary-positive, health professionals will refer them to a facility where they can take an additional blood test.
The city of Long Beach has one of the highest number of reported HIV/AIDS cases in Los Angeles County and the state.
According to the California Department of Public Health HIV/AIDS surveillance report, 1,605 cases of HIV have been reported in Long Beach between April 2006 and June 2014.
“[Long Beach] is a big beach city,” Rivas said. “There are a lot of bars, and people like to party. There’s also a lot of diversity, much like Cal State Long Beach.”
Oscar Sandoval, sports exercise and psychology graduate student, said that students may be embarrassed if people they knew saw them going into the mobile testing unit.
“It’d probably be more convenient for students to get tested [at the Student Health Center], but I think that the fact that the mobile unit is here is a good thing,” Sandoval said. “It is something that students need to be aware about.
Rivas said she thinks the mobile unit is convenient because students can just walk in without making an appointment, whereas the Student Health Center requires an appointment.
The Long Beach Health Department offers free, rapid HIV testing on campus twice a month.
The mobile testing unit will return to campus on March 10 in front of the Social Sciences and Public Administration lawn.
Students can also schedule an appointment for free HIV testing at the Health Resource Center by calling 562-985-4609.