The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #39700

Lisa Bond, MA, Jennifer Lauby, PhD, and Heather Batson, BA. Research and Evaluation, Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, 260 South Broad Street, 18th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19102, 215-985-2531, lisab@phmc.org

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify, within a heterosexual high-risk sample of men and women, the major determinants of HIV testing, including gender-specific, individual- and systems-level factors. Methods: The sample for this study included 1643 African American, Latino and Caucasian men and women. A two-stage community-based sampling design was used to recruit an unbiased cross-sectional sample of at-risk men and women in Philadelphia (August 1999 - May 2000). Results: Overall, 76.7% of men and 85.2% of women had ever taken an HIV test (p<.001). For men and women, the strongest predictors of ever testing for HIV were systems-level factors. For men, having gone to the doctor at least once in the past year was the strongest predictor of testing (OR 3.0, p<.001 for men, OR 2.7, p=.009 for women). For women, having given birth since 1989 (a proxy for exposure to prenatal testing policies) was the strongest predictor of testing (OR 4.4, p<.001). Other systems-level factors, including recent incarceration (men only) and a history of drug treatment (men and women), were significant determinants of HIV testing (p<.05). Individual-level factors that were significantly associated with testing (p<.05) included a history of injection drug use (men only) and knowing someone personally who has HIV (men and women). Conclusion: Future initiatives to increase testing should focus on improving access to routine health care for heterosexual men, and target women who have not given birth in the past decade, or who do not intend to give birth.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to

• understand the factors that act as barriers to HIV testing, as well as factors that facilitate testing;
• describe similarities and differences in the major correlates of HIV testing for women and men; and
• identify how these correlates occur at the individual- versus the systems-level.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Gender

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.