| Reason | Not offered (%) | Refusal (%) |
| Tested negative less than 3 months ago | 116 (38.7) | 10 (5.5) |
| Other (not specified) | 42 (14.0) | 16 (8.8) |
| Attending for hepatitis vaccination (A or B) | 41 (13.7) | – |
| Patient declined last test (no specific reason) | 17 (5.7) | 4 (2.2) |
| Window period (specified as 3 months)* | 16 (5.3) | 42 (23.2) |
| No new risks/partners since last HIV test | 14 (4.7) | 18 (9.9) |
| Low perceived risk | 12 (4.0) | 23 (12.7) |
| Follow-up for HIV test result was positive | 3 (1.0) | – |
| Follow-up for HIV test | 4 (1.3) | – |
| Anxiety surrounding result of test | – | 19 (10.5) |
| Defer | – | 17 (9.4) |
| Needle phobia | – | 6 (3.3) |
| Declined all screening | – | 5 (2.8) |
| Other priority | – | 5 (2.8) |
| No time | – | 4 (2.2) |
| Tests elsewhere | – | 3 (1.7) |
| No reason given | 35 (11.7) | 9 (5.0) |
| Total | 300 (100) | 181 (100) |
GUM, Genitourinary medicine; MSM, men who have sex with men.
*A further 31 patients had no specific reason for not offering or refusal but to the specific question “was the test deferred due to the window period” yes was recorded.