Abstract
Runaway and homeless youth are an understudied and underserved population at increased risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. While seroprevalence data were preliminary, high rates of HIV infection among homeless and runaway adolescents throughout several major American cities indicated cause for concern. Among this adolescent subgroup, HIV seropositivity ranged from a low of 2% in Houston (Stricof, Novick, & Kennedy, 1990) to 5% in New York City (Stricof, Kennedy, Nattell, Weisfuse, & Novick, 1991) and 8% in San Francisco (Shalwitz, Goulart, Dunnigan, & Flannery, 1990). These HIV seroprevalence rates were 2 to 10 times higher than the seropositivity rates reported for other adolescent populations in this country (DiClemente, 1992; St. Louis, Hayman, Miller, Anderson, Petersen, & Dondero, 1989). The markedly higher seropositivity rates among runaway and homeless youth relative to other adolescent populations suggested that HIV prevention programs for this population are an important public health priority.
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Rotheram-Borus, M.J., Feldman, J., Rosario, M., Dunne, E. (1994). Preventing HIV among Runaways: Victims and Victimization. In: DiClemente, R.J., Peterson, J.L. (eds) Preventing AIDS. AIDS Prevention and Mental Health. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1193-3_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1193-3_9
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