Stop the Spread was introduced by the State of Florida in 2007 as part of the African-American Testing Initiative (AATI), a program focused primarily on reaching non-Hispanic blacks unaware of their HIV infection.
The objectives of the initiative include: promoting HIV testing as a routine part of overall health care; encouraging HIV testing in health care settings; and helping local testing centers increase HIV testing.
The Florida Department of Health has partnered with various community testing providers in 11 Florida counties which are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS. Alachua, Broward, Collier, Duval, Hillsborough, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, Pinellas, and St. Lucie are the designated counties. Testing sites include 10 major hospitals, seven community health centers, 11 STD clinics, 11 correctional facilities, one substance abuse treatment center, and nine community-based organizations.
Targeted efforts such as Stop the Spread have helped increase the number of HIV tests administered. In 2008, 373,102 HIV tests were conducted at Florida’s registered testing sites, representing a 13 percent increase (approximately 43,000 tests) over the previous year. This marks the eighth consecutive year in which the number of HIV tests performed in Florida has exceeded 250,000.
AATI completed its first full year of operation in 2008 and contributed to a 21 percent increase (approximately 27,000 tests) in HIV testing among African-Americans.