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ABSTRACT: We examined the prevalence of HIV testing in a representative sample of US adolescents and youth, assessed the location and method of testing used during their last HIV testing, and compare the characteristics of those who had and had not been tested for HIV.
Data on adolescents and youth who participated in the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey were analyzed. Of the 6,628 adolescents and youth who participated in the 2009 BRFSS, 54.4% were male, 59.1% were white, 37.4% graduated from high school, 29.6% live in the western states in the United States. Their mean age was 20.9 years (± 2.07 SD). Of these participants, 31.8% had been tested for HIV. The majority of adolescents had been tested for HIV either at private physician offices (38%) or public clinics (31.7%) compared to HIV counseling and testing sites (3.1%). Only 30.5% of adolescents were tested using a rapid HIV antibody test. Being female, African-American, Asian or multiracial, divorced/widowed, and living in the Western and NorthEastern states in the United States were associated with a high probability of testing for HIV.
The low prevalence of adolescents who tested for HIV and the low proportion of those offered rapid HIV testing after the 2006 CDC's new guidelines about HIV testing raise serious concerns about the effectiveness of HIV prevention efforts particularly among adolescents. More innovative strategies are needed to increase the number of adolescents and youth who become aware of their HIV serostatus.
The Open AIDS Journal 01/2011; 5:80-5.
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ABSTRACT: Students enrolled at a Midwestern university in the United States were surveyed between February and April 2008 about their HIV knowledge, sources of information, attitude toward people living with HIV/AIDS, and their sexual behaviors.
An anonymous questionnaire was sent to 1,000 students via Survey Monkey.
Of the 650 respondents (65%) who provided complete information, 91.2% were white, 70.6% were female, 76.3% were seniors at the university and 94.7% were heterosexuals. Their average age was 22.5 years (SD +/- 4) with a range of 18 to 30 years. Although the majority of students (77.3%) reported to be very familiar with HIV/AIDS including its mode of transmission, important misconceptions still exist regarding HIV/AIDS. Several students either thought that mosquitoes transmit HIV/AIDS (14.2%) or did not know one way or the other (19.9%). About 43.1% were unsure about the existence of drugs that can prevent maternal to child transmission of HIV and 12% actually believed that these drugs do not exist. Moreover, despite the high prevalence of risky sexual behaviors among students, the majority of participants (86.8%) did not perceive themselves to be at risk for contracting HIV. As a result only 29.4% had ever been tested for HIV.
Coexistence among college students of both misconceptions about the mode of HIV/AIDS transmission and denial about their vulnerability to contract this disease underscores the need for a proactive approach to address these challenges facing our youths.
Journal of health and human services administration 01/2009; 32(3):259-77.
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ABSTRACT: Government regulations affect corporations and consumers on a daily basis. For example, environmental and safety regulations in the workplace are administrated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under the Department of Labor. OSHA sets and enforces standards in work environment to ensure the safety and health of workers. Other regulatory agencies, such as the National Highway and Transportation Agency (NHTSA), oversee the transportation and the safety of the automobile and truck industry. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays a major role in approving new drugs on the market and in monitoring drug safety, and it has the power to remove drugs from the market if they are proved to be safety and health problems to the public. However, the mere existence of these regulations often causes impediments to businesses, and the extent of their ultimate usefulness is examined and analyzed in this paper
Journal of health and human services administration 01/2009; 32(3):324-41.
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ABSTRACT: Sub-Saharan Africa is the part of the world that has been hit hardest by the HIV epidemic. To fight the spread of HIV in the continent, it is necessary to know and effectively address the factors that drive the spread of HIV. The purpose of this article is to review the factors associated with the spread of the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa and to propose 6 essential activities, which we refer to by the acronym "ESCAPER," to help curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
MedGenMed: Medscape general medicine 02/2006; 8(4):30.
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ABSTRACT: Epidemiologic data have suggested that male circumcision is a major protective factor against male heterosexual HIV transmission and may explain the significant geographic differences in the prevalence of HIV observed within sub-Saharan Africa. To assess the evidence of the protective effect of male circumcision, African studies on its association with HIV infection were reviewed. These studies' systematic lack of control of important confounding factors makes the assessment of the association between male circumcision and HIV transmission very difficult and raises doubt about the validity of the current findings. Randomized trials are needed to determine the true strength of the association. Until then, a decision to recommend mass male circumcision to prevent HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa is premature and risky.
The AIDS reader 04/2005; 15(3):130-1, 135, 138. · 0.61 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Although injection drug use accounts for only 5% to 10% of cumulative HIV infections globally, it is a more efficient way of spreading HIV than sexual intercourse. HIV epidemics among injection drug users (IDUs) have a potential for rapid spread of the virus within the IDU community and outward into the general population. Effective interventions addressing this mode of HIV transmission are needed because part of a comprehensive strategy to curb the spread of HIV infection. IDUs, often marginalized, pose serious health challenges that can no longer be overlooked. Health care providers need to familiarize themselves with these challenges in order to meet the needs of this disenfranchised population. Providers need to have a clear understanding of targeted behavior and their patients' environmental context. Efforts must be made to foster healthy behavior among IDUs to assist them in managing their infection effectively and become productive members of society. This paper reviews these challenges and outlines selected models that may assist health care providers in fostering behavior changes among HIV-positive injection drug users.
AIDS PATIENT CARE and STDs 08/2003; 17(7):333-43. · 2.41 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To examine the effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on the occurrence of primary brain lymphoma (PBL), determine the risk factors for PBL, and assess the difference in survival between individuals who did and did not develop PBL, data were analyzed from the Michigan Adult/Adolescent Spectrum of HIV Disease project (ASD). Among 4,026 HIV-infected individuals enrolled in ASD between January 1990 and December 2000, 64 (1.6%) were diagnosed with PBL. The incidence rate of PBL declined from 5.6 cases per 1000 person-year in the pre-HAART era to 2.1 cases per 1000 person-year in post-HAART era. In the multivariate analysis, individuals whose CD4 count at entry in ASD was either <50 cells/microL (OR: 5.0) or 50-200 cells/microL (OR: 2.3) were significantly more likely to develop PBL than those with a CD4 count >/= 200 cells/microL. PBL was a terminal condition in these patients. The median survival time was consistently shorter among individuals who developed PBL than those who did not, regardless of their CD4 count at entry into ASD.
AIDS PATIENT CARE and STDs 03/2002; 16(3):107-12. · 2.41 Impact Factor
