HIV prevalence and associated risk behaviors in New York City's house ball community.
OBJECTIVE
We measured HIV seroprevalence and associated risk factors among persons in New York City's house ball community.


METHODS
In 2004 we conducted a venue-based risk-behavior survey and HIV testing in the house ball community.


RESULTS
Of the 504 study participants, 67% were male, 14% female, and 18% transgender. Mean age was 24 years (range=15-52 years); 55% were Black, and 40% were Latino. More than 85% of participants had previously been tested for HIV, although only 60% had been tested in the previous 12 months. Of the 84 (17%) persons who tested positive for HIV in our study, 61 (73%) were unaware of their HIV status. A logistic regression analysis on data from 371 participants who had had a male sexual partner in the previous 12 months showed that HIV-infected participants were more likely than were HIV-negative participants to be Black, to be older than 29 years, and not to have been tested for HIV in the previous 12 months.


CONCLUSIONS
Culturally specific community-level prevention efforts are warranted to reduce risk behaviors and increase the frequency of HIV testing in New York City's house ball community.
Murrill
Christopher S
CS
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 346 Broadway, Room 701, New York, NY 10013, USA. cmurrill@health.nyc.gov
Liu
Kai-Lih
KL
Guilin
Vincent
V
Colón
Edgar Rivera
ER
Dean
Laura
L
Buckley
Lisa A
LA
Sanchez
Travis
T
Finlayson
Teresa J
TJ
Torian
Lucia V
LV
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires