141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

280719
Alcohol use and HIV related behaviors: Results from a nationally representative sample of women

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 4:30 PM - 4:50 PM

Angela Walter, M.S.W., M.P.H. , The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
Background: Research shows that drug and alcohol use are associated with HIV risky behaviors. Prevention research suggests that HIV prevention and outreach services are associated with reduced HIV risk behaviors among high-risk populations. However, despite the high incidence and prevalence of HIV infection among women in recent years, there is limited empirical evidence on the role of alcohol in the transmission of HIV/AIDS for this population.

Methods: Secondary data analyses of the 2009 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were performed to identify the association between alcohol use, and HIV risk and protective behaviors among women (N=15,233). Multivariate logistic regression techniques were used to model HIV risk and protective behaviors controlling for individual, interpersonal, organizational, and community level factors.

Results: Findings demonstrate that older women were 5% less likely to have ever tested for HIV. Black or African American women were more than twice as likely to report ever testing for HIV compared to White women. Regression results show that level of alcohol use was significantly associated with reporting being at risk for HIV or risk exposure, reporting ever testing for HIV, and duration since last provider visit (p<0.05). Women who consumed some alcohol and those who engaged in heavy alcohol use were less likely to report ever testing for HIV.

Conclusions: Public health policymakers should consider targeting resources to more comprehensive HIV-prevention efforts for alcohol-using women. Alcohol related HIV prevention and outreach efforts need to expand to better serve women who may not be traditionally targeted.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
List factors associated with HIV related risk and protective behaviors among women Describe how individual, interpersonal and contextual factors are associated with HIV risk and protective behaviors among women Discuss how findings can be used to influence existing alcohol related HIV prevention work for this population

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the principal researcher on this topic as part of my dissertation research at The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University.
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.