Search

We analyzed the characteristics of individuals at risk for HIV who have not been tested but who (1) planned to be tested, or (2) would get tested "if no one other than you (the respondent) could find out your results." Data were from the 1991 National AIDS Behavioral Surveys, a probability sample of the U.S. population. Logistic regression was used to analyze the correlates of testing behavior among the 41% of individuals in high-prevalence cities who had HIV risk factors (n = 3,175). Of this group, 7% planned to be tested and 30% would get tested "if no one other than you could find out the results." Minorities and individuals with less education and without insurance were more likely to plan to be tested (versus previously tested), and individuals with less education and lower incomes were more likely to be willing to be tested "if no one other than you could find out the results" (versus previously tested). We conclude that a variety of options to increase testing rates should be explored, including accessible testing services, policies and procedures to increase perceptions of testing privacy, and home testing.

Little is known about the relationship among having risks for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, perceiving oneself at risk, and initiating risk reduction for young sexually active women. We surveyed a multiethnic sample of 267 young-adult female family planning clients attending Planned Parenthood clinics to determine these relationships. Perceiving oneself at risk was significantly associated with having sex outside of a primary relationship in the past year, with having five or more sexual partners in the last five years, and with having a primary partner who has other partners. We found no significant relationship between perceiving oneself at risk and adopting risk-reduction strategies, such as inquiring about a partner's risks or using condoms. These data suggest that the women in this population may be overly optimistic about their invulnerability to HIV. While those women who perceived themselves to be at risk for becoming sexually infected with HIV were more likely to report high-risk behaviors, perception of risk did not motivate these women to adopt low-risk behavior. These data suggest that simple HIV education and acknowledgement may have little effect on reducing exposure to HIV among the women in this population. Alternative strategies for reducing risk must be explored.

The relationship between sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been established. Little is known, however, about the relationship between being infected with an STD and initiating HIV risk-reduction behavior. We interviewed 267 young women who were family planning clients of the San Francisco Bay-Area Planned Parenthood clinics, of whom 40% were white, 37% African American, and 23% women of other ethnic origins. Fifty-three percent of the women surveyed reported having been diagnosed with an STD, and 22% reported two or more episodes of infection. African-American women who reported lower educational attainment and being unemployed were more likely to report having been infected with an STD than were women from other ethnic and demographic groups. Ethnic differences were also found in the prevalence of the risk behaviors associated with the self-reported STDs and in the relationship between reporting a history of STD and practicing HIV risk-reduction behavior. Women who reported an STD were significantly more likely to report having a nonmonogamous primary partner. Risk-reduction behaviors associated with a personal history of STD included being less likely to report having asked a sexual partner about his number of previous partners and being more likely to have been tested for antibodies to HIV. Results from this survey suggest that these family planning clients report a frequent history of STDs and that while some have attempted to reduce their risk, these efforts are inadequate. These data underscore a need for ethnically relevant HIV risk-reduction interventions for this population.