Faculty and Alumni Author Article on Students Attitudes to HIV Testing

Muhammed Jawla and Ogbebor Omoike, alumni of East Tennessee State University College of Public Health’s Master and Doctor of Public Health programs, respectively, have joined faculty members Dr. Ying Liu and Dr. Shimin Zheng in co-authoring an article on factors that affect high school students’ attitudes to HIV testing.  The article, Prevalence of HIV testing and factors influencing the attitude of high school students towards HIV testing uptake in U.S. using, Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2017 data, was published in the May 2020 edition of AIDS Care.

Danisha Davis, a current student in ETSU’s Biomedical Sciences program, and Dr. Sheryl Strasser of the University of Alabama at Birmingham are additional co-authors.

This study examined associations between the prevalence of HIV testing and factors or behaviors that influence HIV testing in U.S.A. 9th to 12th graders using the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBSS) data.  Selection criteria was based on whether or not the student reported being sexually active.  The researchers were interested in whether those who reported a sexual debut also reported being tested for HIV. Independent risk factors included age, sex, grade, race, condom use, age at first sexual intercourse, number of lifetime sexual partners, use of contraceptives, use of drug or alcohol before last sexual activity and several other factors.

The researchers found that HIV testing prevalence was 20.34%. Females were more likely to have been tested than males. Those in 11th and 12th grade, those older than 16 and those with multiple sexual partners also had higher rates of HIV testing.  The strongest associations with HIV testing were being older at the time of first sexual intercourse, having three or more life-time sexual partners, being female, those using contraceptives, and among those reporting higher grades in school. 

AIDS Care is a multidisciplinary journal that publishes HIV/AIDS research into the prevention of infection and psychosocial aspects of care and treatment.