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Alcohol Use and HIV Testing in a National Sample of Women

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Abstract

The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority groups and women in the United States. Prevention research suggests that reduced alcohol use and increased HIV testing are associated with lower incidence of HIV transmission among high-risk populations. Multivariable logistic regression analyses of the 2009 National Health Interview Survey data were performed for a national sample of 15,470 adult women to examine the relationship between alcohol use and likelihood of HIV testing. There is a significant association between level of alcohol use and HIV testing. Women who identified as heavy drinkers and moderate drinkers were significantly less likely to report ever testing for HIV. Findings add to the limited literature on the association between alcohol use and HIV testing behaviors among women. Given the incidence of HIV among women, this study highlights the importance of HIV testing, especially for alcohol-using women.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. Walter acknowledges the support of dissertation committee members Drs. Jean F. McGuire and Constance M. Horgan, for their review of her dissertation project. The authors thank Yiyang Yuan, M.P.H. for technical assistance on this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Health Systems Innovation, Department of Health Policy and Management, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118-2526, USA

    Angela W. Walter

  2. Center for Addictions Research and Services, Boston University School of Social Work, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Lena Lundgren

  3. PROMETRIKA, LLC, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Amarachi Umez-Eronini

  4. Institute for Behavioral Health, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Waltham, MA, 02453, USA

    Grant A. Ritter

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  1. Angela W. Walter
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  2. Lena Lundgren
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  3. Amarachi Umez-Eronini
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Correspondence to Angela W. Walter.

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Funding Disclosure

This research was conducted with predoctoral fellowship support from a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) (F31 AA021352). 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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Walter, A.W., Lundgren, L., Umez-Eronini, A. et al. Alcohol Use and HIV Testing in a National Sample of Women. AIDS Behav 20 (Suppl 1), 84–96 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-015-1144-5

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