136th APHA Annual Meeting (October 25-29, 2008): Clinic tours: A novel approach for encouraging HIV testing behaviors among high-risk youth

Monday, October 27, 2008

Carina Lopez, MPH , San Diego Family Care, San Diego, CA

Branko Matich, MPH , San Diego Family Care, San Diego, CA

Wanda Colon Martinez, BA , San Diego Family Care, San Diego, CA

Linda L. Hill, MD, MPH , Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA

Objectives. HIV testing is a critical opportunity to offer information and prevention methods to youth. However, adolescents are reluctant to access health care or take advantage of screening opportunities. Group visits to clinics may provide peer support for youth to obtain HIV testing. The purpose of this study is to assess whether youth who attend the clinic in a group (clinic tour) were more likely to get tested than those who attended a HIV education class and were invited to the clinic for testing. The secondary objective is to assess the HIV risk behaviors of the clinic tour group.

METHODS. Chi square analysis was used to compare HIV testing utilization between both groups. Descriptive information was obtained from an adolescent self-administered survey assessing risk behaviors for HIV. A risk score was calculated from each participant response.

Results. Youth from the clinic tour group were more likely to get tested for HIV than those from the HIV education group (p<.001). Responses from the survey revealed that a majority of the youth from the clinic tour group were engaging in high-risk behavior for HIV. More than 90% of the youth reported initiating sex younger than 15 years of age, 58.0% reported having used alcohol and drugs during intercourse and 53.1% indicated having sex with two or more people during the past six months.

Conclusion. Our findings indicate that clinic tours are a convenient and effective way to encourage testing behavior among high-risk youth

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify 3 risk behaviors for HIV among youth attending clinic tours. 2. Discuss how clinic tours (group testing) can be used to encourage HIV testing among high-risk youth. 3. Apply the findings of this study to develop a clinic tour as a means to encourage HIV testing in your community.

Keywords: Adolescent Health, HIV Risk Behavior

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I helped write the abstract and analyze data that was incorporated in the abstract. I worked closely with the population that is mentioned in the abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.

See more of: Reproductive Health and HIV/STI Issues
See more of: Population, Family Planning, and Reproductive Health

173265 Clinic tours: A novel approach for encouraging HIV testing behaviors among high-risk youth