Impact of Gender, Race, Sexuality and Residential Mobility on HIV Sexual Health Risk in High HIV Prevalence Neighborhoods in CincinnatiGender

Background: This qualitative study explores residential mobility among Black urban women who reside in high HIV prevalent neighborhoods in Cincinnati.  This paper explores the implications of residential mobility on social and sexual networks and elevated sexual health risks. The theoretical framework guiding this research is social disorganization theory, which maintains that decayed social infrastructures in neighborhood (e.g. poverty, unemployment, crime, sex ratio imbalances due to high incarnation, etc.) leads to health compromising behaviors. Methods: Twenty-five women, aged 19 to 67 years, from five high HIV prevalent Cincinnati neighborhoods were interviewed. None of the women interviewed were currently married.  Self-identified sexuality was: heterosexuals (n=21), bisexuals (n=2) and lesbians (n=2). The majority of women interviewed were living at and below the poverty line. Data were analyzed by open and closed coding and pattern analysis. Results: While mobility literature has customarily been situated among socially upward groups and men, this study shows high frequency mobility among poor, urban African American women (<90%). Much of their mobility occurs within and between high HIV prevalent neighborhoods and is due to displacement associated with urban reinvestment initiatives, poor housing and neighborhood and family violence.  The implications of mobility on sexual health risks are enormous given the high-risk population (<70% had a prior STI) and circulation of sexual partnerships. Conclusion: These initial findings suggest that factors prompting urban Black women’s mobility and their frequency of mobility impact social and sexual networks and sexual health risk especially in a spatial context of high HIV and STD infections.