267901 African and Mexican-American adolescent women's sexual knowledge and risk behaviors

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Jane Dimmitt Champion, PhD, DNP, MA, APRN, FNP, AH-PMH-CNS, FAAN , School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Badia Harlin, DNP, FNP-C , Nursing, Texas Tech University Health Sciences School of Nursing, Garland, TX
Jennifer Collins, PhD, RN , School of Nursing, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX
Aims: Describe STI/HIV knowledge and associated sexual risk behaviors among African (AA) and Mexican MA)-American adolescent women for translation of HIV/STI risk reduction interventions for utilization within community health care settings. Methods: AA (n=94, 16.8%) and MA (n=465, 83.2%) women (14-18 years) with histories of STI/HIV and abuse were recruited from public-health clinics in a metropolitan area.  Following enrollment, participants completed semi-structured interviews including assessments for abuse, sexual risk behavior and STI/HIV knowledge. Results: MA were not in school (38% vs. 22.3%, p=.004), unemployed (82.2% vs. 67.4%, p=.001), runaway (52% vs. 36.2%, p=.005), or use cigarettes (74.4% vs. 52.1%, p=.000) more than AA. MA reported high sexual risk behaviors including bisexual (12.3% vs. 4.3%, p=.02), no previous HIV testing (37% vs. 22.3%, p=.004), condomless sex (98.7% vs. 95.7%, p=.048), anal sex (24.1% vs. 10.6%, p=.004), group sex (8.6% vs. 2.1%, p=.03) and sex with injection drug user (11.8% vs. 3.2%, p=.011) more often than AA. Overall STI/HIV knowledge score was higher for AA (22.33) than MA (20.70) (p=.001). No differences in STI or physical, sexual or emotional abuse incidence were identified by ethnicity. Conclusion: AA women were more knowledgeable about STI/HIV, and had obtained more HIV testing than MA women. Demographics and sexual risk behavior identified MA women at higher risk than AA for STI/HIV. Rates of STI/HIV among MA may be related to lower testing reported among MA compared to AA women. A focus on MA adolescent women for translation of community-based interventions concerning STI/HIV is indicated for prevention.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
1) Compare HIV/STI knowledge between African and Mexican-American adolescent women. 2) Identify five sexual risk factors amongst Mexican-American adolescent women that increase their risk for HIV. 3) List four behavior risk factors that increase Mexican-American adolesecent women risk for HIV.

Keywords: Adolescent Health, HIV Risk Behavior

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal investigator for the grant "Behavioral interventions for minority adolescents." Data generated by this grant was utilized for this abstract. I conceptualized the abstract topic, analyzed the data and formulated results, conclusions and implications associated with this abstract.
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.