Heterosexuals at high risk of HIV infection: Health disparities and preliminary results of the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system in Chicago

Heterosexual sex accounts for an increasing proportion of HIV transmission, especially among women, non-Hispanic African-Americans and Hispanic-American groups. For prevention programs, policies and evaluation programs to be effective and efficient, risk factors for heterosexual HIV transmission need to be known.

To this end, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designed the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) system to identify contemporary behavioral dynamics of HIV risk among three populations, one of which is heterosexuals at risk for HIV infection.

In 2007, the CDC implemented the NHBS-heterosexual cycle in cities across the country and, rather than targeting high-risk individuals, targeted high-risk areas (identified as areas with high rates of poverty and HIV/AIDS). The project was meant to identify risk factors for the heterosexual HIV epidemic by identifying HIV/STD risk behaviors, HIV testing behaviors, exposure to HIV prevention and trends in risk behavior.

In Chicago, venue-based sampling was implemented with a sample size goal of 750 heterosexual persons; 866 (447 male, 419 female) were determined to be eligible and completed the survey. OraSure HIV testing was conducted for 816 of the participants. 1.5% of the sampled population was HIV-positive, of whom half were previously naïve of their HIV status. Risk behaviors and profiles are presented.