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Abstract #158603

Brooke E.E. Montgomery, Katharine E. Stewart, PhD, MPH, Zoran Bursac, PhD, Jan Richter, EdD, and Jada Walker, MEd. College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 West Markham Street, Slot 820, Little Rock, AR 72205, 501-686-6801, beeaton@uams.edu

BACKGROUND: Religious practice is associated with improved quality of life and reduced risk-taking in multiple populations. People living with HIV (PLWHIV) report high levels of religiosity or spirituality, but often engage in private religious behavior due to stigma. Understanding the relationship between religious practices and sexual risk in PLWHIV could support innovative approaches for risk reduction and overall health. METHOD: Interview data from 411 diverse PLWHIV in Alabama was analyzed to assess relationships among religious practice, sexual risk, and mediating variables (social support, substance use, physical/mental health status). Interviews were conducted privately by trained interviewers; all procedures were IRB-approved. RESULTS: Univariate comparisons showed high religious practice across the sample but weak association with sexual risk or other mediators. Substance use and sexual risk were strongly associated (p<0.001), but only church attendance was associated with substance use (p=0.0107). Nested logistic regression models explored the relationship of religious practice and mediating variables to sexual risk. These supported the association of substance use and sexual risk. However, religious practice variables were not significant in the models, except for “speaking with a religious leader.” (p=0.0015). CONCLUSIONS: Religious practice and sexual risk were not associated in our sample, perhaps due to ceiling effects. The strong association between substance use and sexual risk supports previous findings. The relationship between substance use and risky sexual behavior was not affected by religious practices. Additional measures of religious practice accounting for high levels of cultural religiosity in subgroups of PLWHIV should be developed to further explore these important issues.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss past research on the benefits of religious participation and the association with sexual behavior among PLWHIV.
• Analyze the association between high-risk sexual behavior and religious behavior, substance use, physical and mental health status, social support, and demographic variables.
• Report on the feasibility of policies and programs that incorporate religion into approaches aimed at supporting safer sexual behaviors among PLWHIV.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Religion

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.