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HIV Testing Experience and Risk Behavior Among Sexually Active Black Young Adults: A CBPR-Based Study Using Respondent-Driven Sampling in Durham, North Carolina

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American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

African Americans are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic inclusive of men who have sex with men, heterosexual men, and women. As part of a community-based participatory research study we assessed HIV testing experience among sexually active 18–30 year old Black men and women in Durham, NC. Of 508 participants, 173 (74 %) men and 236 (86 %; p = 0.0008) women reported ever being tested. Barriers to testing (e.g., perceived risk and stigma) were the same for men and women, but men fell behind mainly because a primary facilitator of testing—routine screening in clinical settings—was more effective at reaching women. Structural and behavioral risk factors associated with HIV infection were prevalent but did not predict HIV testing experience. Reduced access to health care services for low income Black young adults may exacerbate HIV testing barriers that already exist for men and undermine previous success rates in reaching women.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research Grant RO1 NR011232 awarded to Kathleen M. MacQueen. This publication also resulted in part by research supported by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), an NIH funded program P30 AI50410.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, FHI 360, 359 Blackwell Street, Suite 200, Durham, NC, 27701, USA

    Kathleen M. MacQueen, Monique P. Mueller, Eunice Okumu & Natalie T. Eley

  2. Department of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Kathleen M. MacQueen & Malika Roman Isler

  3. Biostatistics, FHI 360, Durham, NC, USA

    Mario Chen

  4. Department of Public Health, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, USA

    David Jolly & Michelle Laws

  5. Clinical Ambassador LLC, Durham, NC, USA

    Allison Kalloo

  6. Durham County Department of Public Health, Durham, NC, USA

    Randy C. Rogers

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  1. Kathleen M. MacQueen
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  2. Mario Chen
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  3. David Jolly
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Correspondence to Kathleen M. MacQueen.

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MacQueen, K.M., Chen, M., Jolly, D. et al. HIV Testing Experience and Risk Behavior Among Sexually Active Black Young Adults: A CBPR-Based Study Using Respondent-Driven Sampling in Durham, North Carolina. Am J Community Psychol 55, 433–443 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-015-9725-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-015-9725-z

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