title: Correlates of HIV testing history among urban youth recruited through venue-based testing in 15 US cities.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adolescents and young adults comprise disproportionately high percentages of individuals living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and those with undiagnosed HIV. Our objective was to determine factors associated with history of HIV testing and receipt of results among a sample of urban, high-risk, sexually active adolescents in 15 US cities.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 20 to 30 sexually active youths, aged 12 to 24 years, were recruited to participate in an anonymous survey and HIV antibody testing at 2 to 3 venues per city identified by young men who have sex with men, young women of color, or intravenous drug users.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1457 participants, 72% reported having been previously tested for HIV (89% of whom were aware of their test results). Our sample was diverse in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Factors found to be predictive of testing typically reflect high risk for HIV, except for some high-risk partner characteristics, including having had a partner that made the youth have sex without a condom or had a partner with unknown HIV status. Factors associated with knowledge of serostatus are reported. HIV testing seems to be more associated with sexually transmitted infection testing services than with primary care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  More strategies are needed that increase testing, including targeting partners of high-risk individuals, insuring receipt of test results, and increasing testing in primary care settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA. dstraub@health.usf.edu
authors.forename: Diane M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Straub
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arrington-Sanders
authors.forename: D Robert
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Willard
authors.forename: Bill
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kapogiannis
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Emmanuel
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Futterman
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ellen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult