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Housing and Sexual Health Among Street-Involved Youth

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Abstract

Street-involved youth (SIY) carry a disproportionate burden of sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Studies among adults suggest that improving housing stability may be an effective primary prevention strategy for improving sexual health. Housing options available to SIY offer varying degrees of stability and adult supervision. This study investigated whether housing options offering more stability and adult supervision are associated with fewer STD and related risk behaviors among SIY. A cross-sectional study was performed using public health survey and laboratory data collected from Toronto SIY in 2010. Three exposure categories were defined a priori based on housing situation: (1) stable and supervised housing, (2) stable and unsupervised housing, and (3) unstable and unsupervised housing. Multivariate logistic regression was used to test the association between housing category and current or recent STD. Secondary analyses were performed using the following secondary outcomes: blood-borne infection, recent binge-drinking, and recent high-risk sexual behavior. The final analysis included 184 SIY. Of these, 28.8 % had a current or recent STD. Housing situation was stable and supervised for 12.5 %, stable and unsupervised for 46.2 %, and unstable and unsupervised for 41.3 %. Compared to stable and supervised housing, there was no significant association between current or recent STD among stable and unsupervised housing or unstable and unsupervised housing. There was no significant association between housing category and risk of blood-borne infection, binge-drinking, or high-risk sexual behavior. Although we did not demonstrate a significant association between stable and supervised housing and lower STD risk, our incorporation of both housing stability and adult supervision into a priori defined exposure groups may inform future studies of housing-related prevention strategies among SIY. Multi-modal interventions beyond housing alone may also be required to prevent sexual morbidity among these vulnerable youth.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by a Trainee Start-Up Fund awarded by The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute in Toronto, Canada on March 9, 2012. We acknowledge the Public Health Agency of Canada for their support of Enhanced Surveillance of Canadian Street Youth (E-SYS) and their provision of E-SYS data for secondary analysis in this study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Author notes

  1. Maya M. Kumar

    Present address: , 4007 Alabama Street, San Diego, CA, 92104, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Maya M. Kumar & Herbert J. Bonifacio

  2. Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada

    Rosane Nisenbaum

  3. Division of Pediatric Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Tony Barozzino, Michael Sgro & Jonathon L. Maguire

  4. Department of Pediatrics, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada

    Tony Barozzino, Michael Sgro, Herbert J. Bonifacio & Jonathon L. Maguire

Authors
  1. Maya M. Kumar
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  2. Rosane Nisenbaum
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  3. Tony Barozzino
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  4. Michael Sgro
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  5. Herbert J. Bonifacio
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  6. Jonathon L. Maguire
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Correspondence to Maya M. Kumar.

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Kumar, M.M., Nisenbaum, R., Barozzino, T. et al. Housing and Sexual Health Among Street-Involved Youth. J Primary Prevent 36, 301–309 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-015-0396-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-015-0396-1

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