142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Using a street outreach survey for syphilis messaging and HIV/STD prevention in Louisiana

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Kathleen Welch, PhD, MPH, MA , Department of Health and Hospitals Louisiana Office of Public Health STD/HIV Program, New Orleans, LA
William T. Robinson, PhD , Evaluation Unit, Department of Health and Hospitals Louisiana Office of Public Health STD/HIV Program, New Orleans, LA
Samuel Burgess, MA, MSHCM , Department of Health and Hospitals Louisiana Office of Public Health STD/HIV Program, New Orleans, LA
Deann Gruber, PhD, LCSW , Department of Health and Hospitals Louisiana Office of Public Health STD/HIV Program, New Orleans, LA
Antoine Brantley, MPH , Department of Health and Hospitals Louisiana Office of Public Health STD/HIV Program, New Orleans, LA
Background:  Historically, Louisiana has some of the highest rates of HIV and STDs in the country. In order to monitor STD/HIV–related risk behaviors over time, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Office of Public Health STD/HIV Program conducts a state-wide street outreach survey in high-risk neighborhoods.  The survey also provides information for targeting interventions and evaluating STD/HIV prevention programs. This abstract discusses the 2013 street outreach survey results.

Methods: During April and May, 2013, outreach workers interviewed 844 people.  The survey included questions on demographics, sexual behavior, drug use, and HIV awareness and STD knowledge, with a focus on syphilis.

Results: The majority of respondents were male (56%), black (78%), and 20-34 years of age (60%). A quarter of the men reported having sex with a man in the last year. Over half (53%) of all respondents reported two or more sex partners in the last year.  Condom use at last sex was 40% with a main partner and 78% with a casual partner. In the past year, 4% reported injection drug use and 44% reported unprotected sex while drunk or high on drugs. Eighty-two percent had ever been tested for HIV and 40% for syphilis. Approximately a third did not know that syphilis increases HIV risk and can be transmitted congenitally.

Conclusion:  STD/HIV prevention programs focusing on condom use, especially while intoxicated,   can be strengthened. There is also a need to provide more information on syphilis, including where to get tested and its transmission. Longitudinal trends will be discussed.

Learning Areas:

Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Epidemiology
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
Describe how a street outreach survey can be used to provide information for syphilis messaging and HIV/STD prevention. Evaluate risk of populations targeted by prevention interventions.

Keyword(s): HIV/AIDS, Survey

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the STD/HIV Prevention Evaluator at the Louisiana Office of Public Health. Among my scientific interests has been the use of community surveys to develop strategies to prevent HIV and other STDs.
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.

Back to: 4285.0: HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Co-Morbidities