4085.0: Tuesday, November 14, 2000 - 8:30 AM

Abstract #2212

Social and structural contexts of sexual health status: A study of inequity and sexually transmitted infections in Chicago women

Rachel A. Coel, Medical Scholars Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 125 Medical Sciences Building, 506 S. Mathews St, Urbana, IL 61801, (217) 359-6459, coel@students.uiuc.edu

Cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remain skewed by race, class, gender, and geography. Females, especially impoverished women of racial and ethnic minorities, continue to be at greatest risk of STIs and suffer more serious reproductive health complications. Between 1973 and 1992, STIs and their complications accounted for over 150,000 deaths in American women. Additionally, STIs seem particularly abundant in areas enduring a multitude of social, political, and economic challenges, such as large urban centers and inner-city neighborhoods. In 1996, urban areas comprised only 19 percent of the US population, but they contributed 45 percent of the US STI cases. This research project provides a unique, interdisciplinary analysis of the social-environmental correlates of female STIs among 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to explore the relationship between four STIs in women (AIDS, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis) and five variable domains corresponding to demographics, socioeconomic status (SES), criminal justice, substance abuse, and health factors. After adjusting for demographic and SES domains, there were significant associations between the other domains and at least one STI. The strength of the statistical relationships was supported by geographical mapping of cluster analyses for both the STIs and the variable domains. This visual representation accentuates the multidimensional disparity between neighborhoods in terms of female sexual health status and social and material deprivation. These findings support the theory that appropriate sexual health interventions must focus on the larger structural inequalities that drive risk behaviors in order to increase opportunities for healthy decision-making.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to: 1. List five socioecological correlates of sexual health status in Chicago women. 2. Recognize the patterns in geographic map representations of both female sexually transmitted infection rates and socioecological factors in Chicago neighborhoods. 3. Discuss policy and practice implications addressing inequity in the distribution of health status and social and material deprivation in urban neighborhoods

Keywords: Women's Health, STD

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

The 128th Annual Meeting of APHA