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Objectives. We assessed agreement of reported gender of sex partners in 2 statewide HIV databases linked by client identifiers. Methods. Counseling, testing, and referral (CTR) records on all men aged 18 to 30 years who tested newly positive for HIV in North Carolina between 2000 and 2005 were matched to data abstracted from partner counseling and referral services (PCRS) records. We compared client-reported gender of sex partners at the time of testing (CTR records) with those reported during postdiagnosis partner notification (PCRS records). Results. PCRS records appeared to be a more complete measure of the gender of sex partners. Of the 212 men who told their HIV test counselor that they had only had female sex partner or partners in their lifetime, 62 (29.2%) provided contact information for male sex partner(s) during partner notification. Conclusions. During the test counseling risk assessment, many men did not fully report the gender of their sex partners; this suggests that CTR data may not fully capture clients' risk behaviors. (Am J Public Health. 2010;100:525-530. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.162552) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate the longitudinal associations of state-level anti-LGBTQ+ policies and county-level politics with individual HIV prevention outcomes among sexual and gender minoritized (SGM) youth., Design: Keeping it LITE-1 prospectively enrolled 3330 SGM youth and young adults (ages 13-34) at increased risk of HIV throughout the United States from 2017 to 2022., Methods: Semiannual surveys collected self-reported HIV prevention measures [current preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use, weekly PrEP adherence, HIV/STI testing in the past 6 months]. Geolocation was linked with state-level LGBTQ+ policy data and county-level election data. Generalized linear models with GEE estimated the single and joint longitudinal associations for two exposures [state-level policy climate (more discriminatory vs. less discriminatory) and county-level political majority (Democratic/swing vs. Republican)] with each outcome., Results: Among participants living in a state with more discriminatory laws, those in a Democratic/swing county had a 6-percentage point increase in PrEP use (95% confidence interval: 0.02, 0.09) compared to those in a Republican county. Those living in a Republican county but a state with less discriminatory laws saw a similar increase (0.05; -0.02,0.11). Residing in both a Democratic/swing county and a state with less discriminatory laws, relative to a Republican county and a state with more discriminatory laws, was associated with a 10-percentage point increase in PrEP use (0.10; 0.06,0.14) and a 5-percentage point increase in HIV/STI testing (0.05; 0.00,0.09)., Conclusion: More progressive state and local policies were each associated with increased PrEP use, and together, doubled the magnitude of this association. PrEP is underutilized among SGM youth, and anti-LGBTQ+ policies may exacerbate this gap in coverage., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)