Intimate partner violence, HIV-risk behaviors, and HIV screening among heterosexually active persons at increased risk for infection

ABSTRACT

Intimate partner violence (IPV) can increase a person’s risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and may affect access to sexual health services. We assessed the prevalence of HIV screening and IPV among heterosexually-active persons using data from the 2016 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance. Participants were eligible if they were 18–60 years old, could complete the interview in English or Spanish, and reported having sex with an opposite sex partner in the previous 12 months. People who reported neither injection drug use within the past 12 months nor prior HIV diagnosis, and persons with valid responses to questions regarding HIV screening and physical/sexual IPV within the past 12 months were included (N = 7,777). Overall, 17% reported IPV in the previous 12 months and 19% had never had HIV screening. Abused persons were more likely to have been screened for HIV and to report high risk behaviors than non-abused persons. There was no difference in the proportion being offered HIV screening by their health care provider in the previous year. Findings suggest an integrated approach to violence prevention and sexual health may help increase awareness about clinical best practices and reduce risk for HIV/STIs among at-risk communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Intimate partner violence
• HIV infection
• sexual health
• screening
• testing

Acknowledgements

We thank all of the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) 2016 participants. We also thank members of the NHBS Study Group: Atlanta, Georgia: Pascale Wortley, Jeff Todd, David Melton; Boston, Massachusetts: Monina Klevens, Rose Doherty, Chris Wittke; Dallas, Texas: Jonathon Poe, Shane Sheu, Alicia Novoa; Denver, Colorado: Alia Al-Tayyib, Melanie Mattson; Los Angeles, California: Ekow Kwa Sey, Yingbo Ma; Memphis, Tennessee: Shanell McGoy, Samantha Mathieson, Ayesha Sarwar; Miami, Florida: Emma Spencer, John-Mark Schacht, David Forrest; Nassau-Suffolk, New York: Bridget Anderson, Ashley Tate, Anthony Romano; New Orleans, Louisiana: William T. Robinson, Narquis Barak, Jeremy M. Beckford; Newark, New Jersey: Barbara Bolden, Afework Wogayehu, Henry Godette; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Kathleen A. Brady, Chrysanthus Nnumolu, Jennifer Shinefeld; Portland, Oregon: Sean Schafer, E. Roberto Orellana, Amisha Bhattari; San Diego, California: Lynn Walton-Hayes, Anna Flynn, Elizabeth Lampley; San Francisco, California: H. Fisher Raymond, Theresa Ick; San Juan, Puerto Rico: Sandra Miranda De León, Yadira Rolón-Colón; Virginia Beach, Virginia: Celestine Buyu, Karen Diepstra, Toyah Reid; Washington, D.C.: Jenevieve Opoku, Irene Kuo; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Surveillance Team. The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.