285312
Concurrency and other sexual risks among black young adults in the Southeast u.s
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
David Jolly, DrPH,
Department of Public Health Education, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC
Marcus Hawley, BA,
Dept. of Public Health Education, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC
Malika Roman Isler, PhD, MPH,
Department of Social Medicine - School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Background: The Southeast remains the U.S. region hit hardest by HIV/AIDS. As elsewhere, African-Americans are disproportionately affected. Discussions of HIV risk in African-American communities often overlook the diversity of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors within those communities. As part of a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project, we surveyed Black young adults in Durham, NC to understand the range of factors that place them at risk for, or protect them from HIV. Methods: We employed respondent-driven sampling to recruit sexually active, Black residents of Durham age 18-30 (n=508). Using an Audio Computer-Assisted Self Interview (ACASI), participants answered questions regarding sexual behaviors across 4 types of partners: steady, casual, one-night stands, and child's mother/father. This presentation describes sexual behaviors among women reporting sex with men (WSM), women reporting sex with men and women (WSMW), and men reporting sex with women (MSW). Results: Mean number of partners in the previous 6 months was 3.0 (WSM), 3.6 (WSMW), and 6.1 (MSW). The proportion engaging in concurrent relationships in the previous 6 months was 24% (WSM), 32% (WSMW), and 38.3% (MSW). Sexual risk behaviors (inconsistent condom use and alcohol use before/during sex) were common across partner types, although less common with casual partners and one-night stands than with steady partners and child's father/mother. Participants who had concurrent relationships reported risk behaviors at rates similar to those who did not. Conclusions: Concurrent relationships and risk behaviors across partner types place a substantial proportion of this sample of southern Black young adults at risk for HIV.
Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Learning Objectives:
Identify the types of sexual partners reported by a sample of Black young adults in the Southeast U.S.
Describe their sexual risk behaviors.
Compare sexual risk behaviors of those reporting concurrent relationships to those not reporting concurrency.
Keyword(s): HIV Risk Behavior, African American
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the research project manager on several HIV/AIDS prevention and family planning studies for seven years with prior experience domestically and internationally working in community health, human services and education. Most recently, I managed the survey development, implementation, analysis and write-up related to this presentation.
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.
