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Risk Factors Associated with HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI), and HIV/STI Co-infection Among Youth Living in the Slums of Kampala, Uganda

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Abstract

The purpose of this analysis was to examine the associated factors of self-reported HIV/STI co-infection among youth living in the slums of Kampala. The study sample consists of a cross-sectional survey. Participants comprised a convenience sample (N = 1134) of youth living on the streets or in the slums (age 12–18). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to determine the association between hypothesized risk factors and levels of HIV/STI co-infection, adjusting for sociodemographic variables. Among the sample of youth who were sexually active (n = 586), 9.9% (n = 58) of youth reported HIV/STI co-infection. Among youth with HIV (13.8%), 71.6% reported a co-infection with another STI. In the multivariable analysis, youth with HIV/STI co-infection were more likely to engage in problem drinking (OR 2.55; 95% CI 1.08, 6.02) and drinking alcohol without problematic alcohol behavior (OR 3.43; 95% CI 1.60, 7.36). HIV/STI co-infection rates are high among youth living in the slums of Kampala and warrant urgent attention.

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Funding

Research reported in this paper was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R21AA22065 (to Dr. Swahn). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3984, Atlanta, GA, 30302-3984, USA

    Rachel Culbreth, Monica H. Swahn, Laura F. Salazar & Lynnette A. Ametewee

  2. Uganda Youth Developmental Link, P.O. Box 12659, Kampala, Uganda

    Rogers Kasirye

Authors
  1. Rachel Culbreth
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  2. Monica H. Swahn
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  4. Lynnette A. Ametewee
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Correspondence to Monica H. Swahn.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. IRB approvals were obtained from Georgia State University and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology to conduct this study in Kampala. Additionally, this study is fully compliant with the provisions of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. All youth provided verbal informed consent for this study.

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Culbreth, R., Swahn, M.H., Salazar, L.F. et al. Risk Factors Associated with HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI), and HIV/STI Co-infection Among Youth Living in the Slums of Kampala, Uganda. AIDS Behav 24, 1023–1031 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02444-5

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