Prevalence of Ever Being Tested for HIV Among Atlanta Homeless Youth
Compared to National Youth Survey Data (2015)
Janae Best, B.A.
Spelman College
Purpose Methods Continued Discussion
The primary objective of this study was to better Classification used for variables of interest: • More individuals in the AYCNA (88.4%) reported
understand how homeless youth in Atlanta, Georgia • HIV Testing • Race ever having an HIV test compared to those in the
compare to high school youth nationwide with regard to -Tested, Not Tested -Hispanic, Non-Hispanic for all races YRBS (10.2%). This is consistent with two previous
ever being tested for HIV. The study examined HIV • Sex studies which found that the majority (85.0% and
• Age
testing by age, sex, sexual orientation, and other factors. -Male, Female 63.9%) of homeless youth had been tested for HIV.
-YRBS <15 & 15-18+
Additionally, in 2015 there was a 40.0% increase in
Background AYCNA 15-19 & 20-25 • Sexual Orientation HIV testing in Fulton County (comprises Atlanta,
-The 15-19 group was created for AYCNA to be
• Prevalence of HIV among homeless youth exceeds -Heterosexual, Sexual Minority (gay, lesbian, bisexual), Other GA), and a large portion of the AYCNA respondents.2
comparable to the 15-18+ age group for YRBS. (unsure, something else, undecided)
that of the general adolescent population. This may be
It is unknown how old the oldest respondents are • Older youth may have had a higher prevalence of
due to increased exposure to drugs as a source for
in YRBS therefore there is no 20-25 age group. testing because they have lived longer and had greater
self-medication, early sexual onset, and increased risk
opportunity for testing. Also, they are more informed
for sexual exploitation for sleeping security and
income.1,3 Results about risk and testing locations.
• Black youth in the YRBS had a higher prevalence of
• HIV testing makes youth aware of their status and Table 2: Demographic Variables for Youth Figure 1: Prevalence of Ever Being Figure 2: Prevalence of Ever Being testing compared to other racial/ethnic groups
allows them to be linked to care and treated, which is Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and Atlanta Tested For HIV by Age Tested For HIV by Race/Ethnicity potentially because Black youth were offered a test
especially important for youth who are unstably Youth Count Needs Assessment (AYCNA) 100% 100% more frequently due to disparate rates of infection.
housed. 90% 90%
2015 YRBS 2015 AYCNA
• Youth in the YRBS that identified as a sexual minority
• Previous studies have examined differences in groups Respondents Respondents 80% 80%
(N=15,624) (N=693) 70% 70% had a significantly higher prevalence of testing for
being tested for HIV among homeless youth, but have
Percentage
Percentage
60% 60% HIV than those who identified as heterosexual. Youth
not compared homeless youth in Atlanta to a general †Age 50% 50%
that are at high risk for HIV tend to seek testing.
population of youth. <15 1,744 (10.3%) 0 40% 40%
30% 30% • Limitations:
• Identifying differences and similarities among city- 15-18+/15-19 13,814 (89.7%) 202 (29.1%) 20% 20%
• Our study was a descriptive comparison of the two
level homeless youth and youth nationwide could 20-25 0 491 (70.9%) 10% 10%
datasets and does not statistically compare
0% 0%
reveal a need for tailored HIV testing interventions. YRBS* AYCNA* YRBS* AYCNA differences between the two populations.
Race
Methods Black* 1,667 (13.6%) 484 (70.0%)
<15 15-18+/15-19 20-25 Black White Hispanic Other • Sample populations were different with regard to
time frames, geography, age, and racial/ethnic
• 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS): Hispanic 5,121 (22.3%) 56 (8.1%) distribution.
violence, sexual risk behavior, dietary behaviors,
White* 6,849 (54.5%) 37 (5.4%)
Figure 3: Prevalence of Ever Being • YRBS only included youth that were enrolled in
alcohol/drug use. Figure 4: Prevalence of Ever Being
Other* 1,629 (9.7%) 114 (16.5%) school; not representative of all youth.
Tested For HIV by Sex Tested For HIV by Sexual Orientation
• 2015 Atlanta Youth Count and Needs Assessment
(AYCNA): personal/social back-ground, health status,
Sex 100% 100% Conclusion
current and past experiences with homelessness, Female 7,757 (48.7%) 229 (33.5%) 90% 90%
• Prevalence of HIV testing is different in both groups.
80% 80%
contact with health and social service systems. Male 7,749 (51.3%) 454 (66.5%) 70% 70% • High prevalence of testing among homeless youth in
Percentage
Percentage
60% 60%
• Chi-square analyses were used to assess the Sexual Orientation Atlanta indicates public health success in targeting at
50% 50%
prevalence of HIV testing based on age, Heterosexual 12,954 (88.8%) 504 (73.1%) 40% 40%
risk youth!
race/ethnicity, sex, and sexual orientation. T-tests were 30% 30%
• Future Analyses could include analyses by sex, Black
Sexual Minority 1,246 (8.0%) 170 (24.7%) 20% 20%
used to look at pairwise differences between groups as youth only (given Atlanta’s homeless population
Other 503 (3.2%) 15 (2.2%) 10% 10%
necessary. IBM SPSS Statistics 21, complex sampling 0% 0% distribution), and/or examining youth sexual risk
module was used for the YRBS dataset. Differences Note: Numbers may not add to total due to missing data, and YRBS AYCNA YRBS* AYCNA behaviors as they relate to HIV testing.
percentages may not add to 100, due to rounding.
between the two datasets were not tested for statistical *Non-Hispanic. Female Male Heterosexual Sexual Minority Other
significance. †Age was recoded in order to make both datasets comparable. AYCNA
was recoded into <15, 15–19, 20+ year olds. Whereas, the YRBS was
Acknowledgments
recoded into <15, 15–18+ year olds. I would like to thank Ranell L. Myles, PhD, MPH,
CHES, Lara Bull, PhD, MPH, Greg Bautista, MPH,
Table 1: Differences between YRBS and AYCNA
Hazel D. Dean, ScD, MPH, FACE, Deron Burton, MD,
YRBS AYCNA • Prevalence of HIV testing was different for each sample, 10.2% of YRBS respondents indicated ever having an HIV test, while JD, MPH, Zewditu Demissie, PhD, MPH, Eric Wright,
88.4% of AYCNA respondents had an HIV test. PhD, Ana LaBoy, MA, and the Public Health Leader
50 states and the
Location Atlanta, GA Fellowship Program. The content is solely the
District of Columbia • Figure 1: In the YRBS, students ages 15-18+ had a higher prevalence of testing (10.7%) than students <15 (5.5%), p<0.001. In
responsibility of the author and does not necessarily
the AYCNA, participants who were 20-25 (91.6%) had a higher prevalence of testing than those who were 15-19 (80.9%),
Participants N=15, 624 N=693 represent the official views of the Centers for Disease
p<0.001.
Control and Prevention.
Age* <12 to 18+ 14 to 25 • Figure 2: Race was associated with prevalence of testing for YRBS (p<0.001) but not AYCNA (p=0.109).Black respondents in
the YRBS had a higher prevalence of testing (16.6%) compared whites (8.0%, p<0.01). Hispanic participants (11.1%) and
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