Housing stability, residential transience, and HIV testing among low-income urban African Americans.
The association between housing and HIV has been widely demonstrated, although inquiry into HIV testing has been largely limited to the homeless. This study examines correlates of HIV testing within the past 6 months with housing stability and residential transience (moving two or more times in the past 6 months) among 620 low-income urban African Americans. Unstably housed and transient participants were more likely to participate in high-risk sex behaviors than stably housed participants and non-transient participants, respectively. In multivariate analyses, residential transience was positively associated with recent HIV testing; however, persons unstably housed were not more likely to have recently been tested for HIV despite their increased vulnerability and risk. While structural interventions are necessary to address the HIV disparities related to housing, increased community-based and mobile testing centers may be able to improve access to HIV testing among unstably housed.
Suzanne M Dolwick
SM
Grieb
Melissa
M
Davey-Rothwell
Carl A
CA
Latkin
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D015142:Baltimore; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006306:Health Surveys; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology*; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011203:Poverty; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000523:psychology*; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult