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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Tooru Nemoto, PhD, Jae Sevelius, PhD, Mary Hsueh, BA, Andrea Horne, Kathryn Steuerman, Breonna McCree, and Ari Rinzler, BA. Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, 50 Beale St., Suite 1300, San Francisco, CA 94105, 415-597-9391, tooru.nemoto@ucsf.edu

Background: The highest rates of HIV sero-prevalence have been reported among transgender women in San Francisco. The study aims to understand substance use and HIV risk behaviors among racially diverse transgender women in the San Francisco Bay area. Methods: Two focus groups each were conducted for White transgender women in San Francisco and African American transgender women in Oakland (N=32). Focus groups were organized around 5 themes: personal concerns, hormone use, gender confirmation surgery, drug use, and sexual behaviors. Results: More African-American transgender women in Oakland reported being HIV positive and currently engaging in sex work compared with White transgender women in San Francisco. Life-time injection drug use was common among White transgender women, while African American transgender women reported currently using drugs. A White participant stated “I took like 4 or 5 dates a week, $1,200 at least a week. And, got introduced to heroin, and started slowly cycling down. I cannot even say how many times I've been raped.” An African-American participant stated “I didn't like myself even before I started to smoke crack. … I don't love myself. That's why I was doing it.” Conclusions: Meanings and purposes of using drugs and engaging in sex work are different between African-American and White transgender women, reflecting social networks of transgender women and access to HIV prevention and other services in San Francisco and Oakland. HIV prevention programs must address substance use, mental health, sex work, and access to health care, specific to the local needs of transgender women.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.To understand substance use and HIV related risk behaviors among transgender women.
• 2.To understand the meanings of risk behaviors specific to African-American and White transgender women in relation to social and geographic contexts.
• 3.To apply findings to understand social and cultural issues related to substance use and HIV risk behaviors among transgender women.

Keywords: Injection Drug Users, Sex Workers

Related Web page: www.caps.ucsf.edu/TRANS/

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered