Findings in the Area of HIV/AIDS and Syphilis Reported from University of North Carolina (Neighborhood Health Care Access and Sexually Transmitted…

Findings in the Area of HIV/AIDS and Syphilis Reported from University of North Carolina (Neighborhood Health Care Access and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Women in the Southern United States: A Cross-Sectional Multilevel Analysis)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Data detailed on Opportunistic Infections - HIV/AIDS and Syphilis have been presented. According to news reporting originating in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by VerticalNews journalists, research stated, "The United States has experienced an increase in reportable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) while simultaneously experiencing a decline in safety net services for STI testing and treatment. This multilevel study assessed relationships between neighborhood-level access to health care and STIs among a predominantly Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-seropositive cohort of women living in the south."

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the University of North Carolina, "This cross-sectional multilevel analysis included baseline data from HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative women enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study sites in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina between 2013 and 2015 (N = 666). Administrative data (eg, United States Census) described health care access (eg, percentage of residents with a primary care provider, percentage of residents with health insurance) in the census tracts where women lived. Sexually transmitted infections (chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, or early syphilis) were diagnosed using laboratory testing. Generalized estimating equations were used to determine relationships between tract-level characteristics and STIs. Analyses were conducted using SAS 9.4. Seventy percent of participants were HIV-seropositive. Eleven percent of participants had an STI. A 4-unit increase in the percentage of residents with a primary care provider was associated with 39% lower STI risk (risk ratio, 0.61, 95% confidence interval, 0.38-0.99). The percentage of tract residents with health insurance was not associated with STIs (risk ratio, 0.98, 95% confidence interval, 0.91-1.05). Relationships did not vary by HIV status. Greater neighborhood health care access was associated with fewer STIs. Research should establish the causality of this relationship and pathways through which neighborhood health care access influences STIs."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Structural interventions and programs increasing linkage to care may reduce STIs."

For more information on this research see: Neighborhood Health Care Access and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Women in the Southern United States: A Cross-Sectional Multilevel Analysis. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 2018;45(1):19-24. Sexually Transmitted Diseases can be contacted at: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Two Commerce Sq, 2001 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA. (Lippincott Williams and Wilkins - www.lww.com; Sexually Transmitted Diseases - journals.lww.com/stdjournal/pages/default.aspx)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting D.F. Haley, Univ North Carolina Chapel Hill, Sch Med, Inst Global Hlth & Infect Dis, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States. Additional authors for this research include A. Edmonds, N. Belenky, D.A. Hickson, C. Ramirez, G.M. Wingood, H. Bolivar, E. Golub and A.A. Adimora.

Keywords for this news article include: Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, North and Central America, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Conditions (STDs), Viral Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Conditions, Immune System Diseases and Conditions, Diagnostics and Screening, Opportunistic Infections, HIV/AIDS and Syphilis, Primate Lentiviruses, Health and Medicine, Vertebrate Viruses, Health Insurance, Retroviridae, RNA Viruses, University of North Carolina.

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