218632 Beliefs and perceptions of risks among women that have never been tested for HIV in the United States

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Crystal Piper, MPH, MHA, PhD , Department of Public Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Saundra H. Glover, PhD , Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Edith M. Williams, PhD, MS , Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Bankole A. Olatosi, MPH, PhD , Department of Healthcare Management and Organizational Development, Mount Olive College, Mount Olive, NC
Shaniece Charlemagne, MPH , Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Institute for Health Disparities, Columbia, SC
Dayna Anne Campbell, MS, PhD (c) , Division of General Education, Allen University, Columbia, SC
Chinelo Amarachukwu Ogbuanu, MD, MPH , Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Lucy Annang, PhD, MPH , Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health, Columbia, SC
Menia Lee , USC-Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Elijah Onsomu, MS, MPH, PhD(c), CHES , Department of Public Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Background: There is a disproportionate burden of some health conditions such as HIV/AIDS among minority women, particularly African American (64%) and Hispanic (15%) women who accounted for more than three quarters of the women living with HIV/AIDS in 2009.

Objective/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the correlates of non-utilization of HIV testing services among women age 18-64 in the United States.

Methods: This study was a retrospective secondary data analysis of the 2006 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). SAS and SUDAAN were utilized for data analysis to account for the complex multistage design of NHIS. Parametric testing using Univariate, Bivariate, and Multivariate analyses were performed to examine perception of HIV acquisition among women in the United States.

Results: Of the 5,424 women in the study, over half of the women reported they never had an HIV test. In the multivariate analysis, women who had not been tested for HIV and believed they had no risk of acquiring HIV were more likely to have never been married (OR=2.98, 95% CI 0.31-28.73, p=.0013). In addition, women who had not been tested for HIV and believed they had no risk of acquiring HIV were more likely to report having less than an high school diploma (OR=0.35, 95% CI 0.15-0.78 p=.0022).

Discussion: Findings from this study can lend themselves to the development of more efficient and sustainable interventions to prevent HIV infection and decrease high-risk behaviors among more susceptible populations and for the development of HIV testing policy.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
1. Explain the disparities in HIV testing behaviors among women in the United States. 2. List the predictors of non-use of HIV testing among women.

Keywords: Women and HIV/AIDS, Behavioral Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a health services researcher that conducts womens health studies.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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