2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

336727
Tracking the Epidemic: An Evaluation of the HIV Case Surveillance and National HIV Behavioral Surveillance among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Puerto Rico


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 12:50 p.m. - 1:10 p.m.

Vivian Colon, PhD, MPH, Cancer Control and Population Sciences, University of PR Graduate School of Public Health and PR Cancer Center, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, PR
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Background:A collaboration between the HIV Surveillance System and the UPR Medical Sciences Campus provide the opportunity to study MSM-National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System (NHBS) as well as the HIV Case Surveillance databases in order to delineate targeted prevention strategies. This is of particular relevance given that Puerto Rico (PR) has the second highest HIV incidence in the US.

Objective: To present evaluation and research efforts with MSM-NHBS using data from the 2008 and 2011 cycles and the HIV Surveillance database.

Methods: Descriptive analysis and Poisson regression models were used to describe the HIV surveillance and NHBS data, respectively.

Results: A total of 19,559 people were living with HIV/AIDS in PR at the end of 2013. Of those living with HIV, 22.1% were MSM. The percentage of infection amongst MSMs surpassed the percentage observed among any other population at risk, becoming the principal mode of transmission for newly diagnosed cases. NHBS-MSM data shows significant changes in demographical characteristics over time. High unawareness of HIV was reported (72.2% in 2008 vs. 76.7% in 2011). Also, little over a half (53.3%) disclosed same-sex attraction to the Health Care Professional (HCP). Multivariate analysis showed that as MSM get older they were 3.0% more likely to disclose same sex attraction to a HCP (OR: 1.03, 95%CI:1.00-1.05; p=0.0203).

Conclusions: The increase in HIV incidence might be explained due to the high proportion of unaware HIV positive MSMs. Multilevel efforts will be necessary to impact MSM and health providers in order to promote opportunities for HIV prevention.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the epidemiology of HIV in Puerto Rico. Explain the efforts of the collaboration between UPR Medical Sciences Campus and the HIV Surveillance System in order to gather scientific data to promote targeted prevention efforts in the island. Explain the National HIV Surveillance System NHBS Explain recent data based on 2008 and 2011 NHBS cycles

Keyword(s): HIV/AIDS, Community-Based Partnership & Collaboration

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have years of experiences conducting research in the realm of HIV. I am one of the investigators of this collaborative effort. I worked on the conception of the research question, data analysis and interpretation of the data.
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: 3263.0: Politics, Policies, and HIV in Puerto Rico: Tales from the Colony