Community outreach program targeted adolescents at high risk for HIV

A clinical care and community outreach program, Health and Education Alternatives for Teens, successfully assessed an at-risk demographic of adolescents living in Brooklyn, N.Y., according to data presented at the 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine Annual Meeting.

Jessica Bloome, MD, MPH, from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, and colleagues compared demographic and risk profiles of patients aged 13 to 24 years who were tested for HIV through the Health and Education Alternatives for Teens (HEAT) program and programs funded by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYCDHMH). All programs took place in Brooklyn, N.Y.

In 2011, the HEAT program tested 575 adolescents with a 0.84% positive test rate. Adolescents tested at government-funded sites had a 0.34% positive test rate. The mean age of the participants from this site was 18 years; 71% identified as black, 18% were Hispanic, 4% were biracial and 4% responded as other race/ethnicity. Self-reported risk factors were heterosexual (70.1%) sex; men who have sex with men (20%) sex; women who have sex with women (6%) sex; and unknown (1.5%). All HEAT participants with positive test results cited MSM sex as potential exposure; this proportion was smaller among adolescents at government-funded sites.

Regarding sexual experience, a random sample of HEAT program intake forms showed 82% of participants reported any sexual activity. HEAT participants reported a median of one recent partner; 17.5% reported three or more recent partners. Of those who were sexually active, 40% reportedly used condoms with every sexual encounter, 21% said they used condoms most of the time, and 28% reported they sometimes, rarely or never use condoms.

“The HEAT venue-based HIV testing program in Brooklyn, N.Y., successfully targeted a population of adolescents at risk for HIV in 2011. Demographic characteristics were similar to those tested at NYCDHMH-funded sites. However, HEAT included a greater proportion of adolescents reporting MSM sex … additional strategies may be needed to reach the most high-risk heterosexual adolescents, particularly women of color,” the researchers concluded.

For more information:

Bloome J. Abstract 110. Presented at: SAHM 2014; March 23-26, 2014; Austin, Texas.