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Rates and Correlates of HIV and STI Infection Among Homeless Women

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Abstract

We studied the prevalence of biologically confirmed HIV, Chlamydia, and gonorrhea in a randomly selected sample of sheltered homeless women in New York City, and explored their association with demographic, homeless history, and clinical risk factors. 329 women were randomly selected from 28 family and single adult shelters. The estimated prevalence of HIV in the study sample is 0.6 % (±0.3 %); for Chlamydia it is 6.7 % (±2.2 %); for gonorrhea it is 0.9 % (±0.04 %). A history of childhood sexual abuse, arrest history, current psychotic symptoms, and substance use disorder placed women at greater risk of infection. We consider contextual factors that may yield underestimates of HIV prevalence in our sample and discuss how a more comprehensive prevalence estimate might be constructed. Findings underscore the importance of offering HIV/STI testing, counseling, and HIV risk prevention interventions to homeless women and suggest that interventions should be tailored to the needs of specific subgroups of homeless women.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grant number R01 DA 019399, from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The authors wish to thank the New York City DHS for their assistance in carrying out this project.

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Correspondence to Carol L. M. Caton.

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Caton, C.L.M., El-Bassel, N., Gelman, A. et al. Rates and Correlates of HIV and STI Infection Among Homeless Women. AIDS Behav 17, 856–864 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-012-0198-x

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