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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Victoria Frye, DrPH¹, Mary L. Latka, PhD¹, YingFeng Wu, PhD¹, Ann O'Leary, PhD², Amy Knowlton, ScD³, Kelly Knight, MEd⁴, Eduardo E. Valverde, MPH⁵, and Julia H. Arnsten, MD, MPH⁶. (1) Center for Urban Epidemiological Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10029-5202, 212-822-7291, vfrye@nyam.org, (2) Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Prevention Research Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, MS E-37, Prevention Research Branch, Atlanta, GA 30333, (3) Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, Room 286, Baltimore, MD 21205, (4) Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, Univeristy of California, San Francisco, 50 Beale Street, Suite 1300, San Francisco, CA 94105, (5) Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1801 Northwest 9th Avenue, Suite 300, Miami, FL 33136, (6) Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 111 East 210 Street, Bronx, NY 10467

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization is a serious public health and social problem and is associated with several adverse health outcomes and behaviors, including sexual HIV risk behavior and drug use, among women. There is little information however on the use of IPV among HIV+ men who use drugs. Methods: Using baseline data from a multisite intervention study with HIV+ injecting drug users (IDUs), we assessed the prevalence and correlates of the use of physical and sexual IPV with a main female partner among 317 HIV+ men who were recent or current IDUs. Results: Over 40% of men reported using physical (39%) or sexual (4%) IPV against main female partners in the past year. Bivariate analyses revealed that HIV+ men who used IPV possessed lower education, were more often homeless, had lower feelings of responsibility for transmitting HIV, and were more psychologically distressed, than men who did not use IPV. Additionally, men who used IPV had more sex partners, were more likely to have unprotected sex with their main female partner and non-main and HIV- female partners in the 3 months prior to interview. In multivariate models, low education, homelessness, psychological distress and unprotected sex with main female partners and non-main/HIV- female partners were associated with the use of IPV with main female partners. Conclusions: IPV use is highly prevalent among HIV+ male IDUs and should be systematically assessed in HIV care and drug use treatment settings and interventions should be implemented to address both violence and HIV risk.

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

• Describe the intersect between intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual HIV risk behavior.
• Identify factors associated with the use of IPV among men with HIV and drug users.
• Evaluate the relationship between IPV use and sexual HIV risk behavior among HIV+ male IDUs.

Keywords: HIV Risk Behavior, Domestic Violence

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered