Association Between Parental HPV Knowledge and Intentions to Have Their Daughters Vaccinated.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 and 18 causes 66% of cervical cancers (Dunne et al., 2014). Vaccination during adolescence can prevent HPV-associated cervical cancers, yet less than half of adolescent girls are vaccinated. This study examined the association between HPV knowledge and parental intentions to vaccinate daughters against HPV. A retrospective, cross-sectional, national data set from the 2006-2007 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) was used. A multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association between intent to vaccinate and HPV knowledge. After controlling for other covariates, parents who were knowledgeable were more likely to intend to have their daughters vaccinated compared with those who were not knowledgeable (adjusted relative risk ratio [aRRR] = 3.96, p = .004). Having HPV knowledge would significantly increase parents' intent for vaccination against the disease for their daughters. Health care providers should integrate HPV-related education for parents within their services, and policymakers should consider requiring HPV vaccination for school attendance.

Naturally occurring HCV NS5A/B inhibitor resistance-associated mutations to direct-acting antivirals.

BACKGROUND: Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have significantly improved the treatment response in HCV chronic infection with higher potency and better tolerance. We established the prevalence of naturally occurring NS5A and NS5B inhibitor resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) in HCV genotype (GT)-1 chronically infected individuals in Ireland. METHODS: In a multicentre cohort study, employing sequencing-based analysis, the presence of RAMs was determined in the HCV NS5A (n=119) and the NS5B (n=60). RESULTS: Naturally occurring RAMs in NS5A (M28V, R30Q, L31I, P58S, E62D and Y93H) were identified in 14.3% (17/119) of cases. Notably, the major RAM Y93H was found in 15.2% (7/46) of GT-1b versus none (0/73) in GT-1a (P=0.0009). The frequency of Y93H present in IFNL3 rs12979860 CC major homozygotes (30%, 3/10) was higher than in the non-CC group (11.1%, 4/36). GT-1b-infected individuals harbouring Y93H had significantly higher viral loads than those without this mutation (P=0.006). Additionally, two novel insertions in GT-1a and GT-1b were identified in the NS5A interferon sensitivity-determining region. In NS5B, only minor pre-existing RAMs (L159F, C316N and I434M) were detected in 10% (6/60) of samples. The proportion of individuals harbouring multiple RAMs in different DAA target regions was low. CONCLUSIONS: RAMs to novel DAAs were infrequent in the DAA-naive population in the present study. The NS5A Y93H substitution was the only significant RAM identified. Given the low frequency of multiple RAMs in NS3, NS5A and NS5B regions and the unclear impact of pre-existing Y93H on the response in combination therapies, the role of pre-treatment RAM analysis in treatment-naive individuals requires further investigation.

The stressors of being young and Black: Cardiovascular health and Black young adults.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of stressors relevant to the lives of Black young adults including racial, financial, occupational, and general stress and psychological distress on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Specifically, this study examined the relationship between multiple psychosocial stressors and two CVD risk indicators (i.e. obesity and blood pressure). DESIGN: This study used a quantitative design which included surveys, the collection of anthropometric and blood pressure (BP) measures. Participants were 124 Black college students aged 18 to 27 years old. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants completed measures to assess psychological distress, general, occupational, financial and racial stress. Measures of body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and BP were collected to assess CVD risk. RESULTS: Findings indicated a significant effect of internalised racism on BMI and a significant effect of individual racial stress on diastolic BP. Also, depression was significantly associated with systolic BP. There were no significant results for WHR. CONCLUSION: Findings suggested that the relationship among racial stress, psychological distress and CVD be further explored.

To Test or Not to Test: Barriers and Solutions to Testing African American College Students for HIV at a Historically Black College/University.

Young African Americans are disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The purpose was to identify reasons that African American college students at a historically Black college/university (HBCU) identified as barriers to HIV testing, and how these barriers can be removed. Fifty-seven heterosexual-identified undergraduate students (ages 18-25) attending an HBCU in the southeastern US participated in a mixed method study. Latent content analytic techniques were used to code the transcripts for themes and categories, and representative quotations were used in the findings. Quantitative data indicates high levels of perceived knowledge about HIV transmission, low perception of risk and concern of contracting HIV, yet continued sexual risk behavior. Qualitative data indicates three main themes used to avoid testing and three themes to encourage testing. Students were forthcoming in discussing the themes around avoidance of HIV testing (being scared to know, preferring not to know, and lack of discussion about HIV) and encouraging testing (group testing, increasing basic knowledge, and showing the reality of HIV). It is important for college healthcare professionals, researchers, and officials to identify appropriate ways to encourage HIV testing, and promote testing as part of overall health.

Factors Influencing Dating Experiences Among African American Emerging Adults.

This study examined sociocultural factors that impact dating and sexual experiences of heterosexual African American undergraduate college students attending a historically Black institution in the Southeastern United States. Specifically, mate availability and relationship involvement were analyzed to document students' experiences, and how these influences may be associated with sexual decision making and behavior. Data from nine focus groups (N = 57) were aggregated and four subthemes were identified: competition among women, acceptability of mates, high prevalence of casual relationships, and lowered expectations for commitment. Power dynamics emerged as a contributing factor to the types of relationship involvement, sexual decision-making, and behavior among participants. The importance of prevention programs focusing on situational and cultural variables is highlighted. Additionally, implications for professionals working with emerging adults to consider the impact of the gender ratio imbalance, and perceived power distributions on perceptions of dating relationships, and sexual decision making and behavior are addressed.

Gender roles, sociosexuality, and sexual behavior among US Black women.

This study examined the relationship between gender roles and sociosexuality (an individual difference variable describing attitudes about sexual permissiveness and promiscuity), and their predictive pattern of HIV-related sexual risk behaviors. A geographically diverse sample of 275 adult, heterosexual Black women (mean age = 33.60 years), participated in a self-administered survey. Significant relationships were found between feminine traits and sociosexuality, and between sociosexuality and four of the five risky sexual behavior variables. Neither masculine nor feminine gender roles were related to any risky sexual behavior variables. Sociosexuality emerged as an important correlate that requires further exploration of its relationship to the attitudes and behaviors of Black women, and its potential relationship to HIV risk-related sexual behavior. The need for more attention to psychosocial variables, and consideration of context, cultural norms, and values is discussed as an important undertaking in order to garner an accurate picture of sexual risk behavior.

Masculine ideology, norms, and HIV prevention among young Black men.

This study examines the relationship between masculine ideology, adherence to norms, and HIV prevention among young Black heterosexual and gay men on the campus of a historically Black college/university. The data from four focus groups and nine individual interviews (N = 35) were aggregated and two recurring themes emerged: sexual communication, and mate availability. Additional themes related to HIV prevention were stigma, protection, and testing. The importance of investigating masculinity with young men is highlighted and implications for professionals working with college students to prevent the transmission of HIV are included.

Sociosexuality, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) susceptibility, and sexual behavior among African American women.

Psychosocial correlation of risky sexual behavior is important for the design and implementation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related prevention and intervention studies. Sociosexuality (individual differences in endorsement of casual sexual behavior) and perceived susceptibility to HIV were examined for their relationship to each other, and in predicting risky sexual behavior among adult, heterosexual African American women using web-based and in-person surveys. This study included 275 geographically diverse women (mean age = 33.60 years), with 81% reported having at least a college degree, and over 50% reported incomes over $45,000. Results indicate that sociosexuality was significantly associated with perceived susceptibility, and both higher levels of sociosexuality and perceived susceptibility were significantly related to engagement in riskier sexual behavior. Age at first voluntary intercourse emerged as an important covariate in predicting risky sexual behavior among the participants. The need to include psychosocial variables associated with risky sexual behavior in sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV-related health promotion and intervention studies was discussed.

Correlates of African American Men's Sexual Schemas.

Sexual schemas are cognitive representations of oneself as a sexual being and aid in the processing of sexually relevant information. We examined the relationship between sociosexuality (attitudes about casual sex), masculine ideology (attitudes toward traditional men and male roles), and cultural centrality (strength of identity with racial group) as significant psychosocial and sociocultural predictors in shaping young, heterosexual African American men's sexual schemas. A community sample (n=133) of men in a southeastern city of the United States completed quantitative self-report measures examining their attitudes and behavior related to casual sex, beliefs about masculinity, racial and cultural identity, and self-views of various sexual aspects of themselves. Results indicated that masculine ideology and cultural centrality were both positively related to men's sexual schemas. Cultural centrality explained 12 % of the variance in level of sexual schema, and had the strongest correlation of the predictor variables with sexual schema (r=.36). The need for more attention to the bidirectional relationships between masculinity, racial/cultural identity, and sexual schemas in prevention, intervention, and public health efforts for African American men is discussed.

Ethnicity, serostatus, and psychosocial differences in sexual risk behavior among HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative women.

Childhood sexual abuse and related life traumas, and other psychosocial variables were investigated as contributors to ethnic differences in sexual risk behaviors among women who differed in HIV-serostatus. A multiethnic sample of 457 HIV-positive and HIV-negative women residing in Los Angeles county was recruited and studied over 2 years as part of the UCLA-Charles R. Drew University Women and Family Project (WFP) study. Comprehensive interviews were administered to participants by ethnically- and linguistically matched interviewers. Data on demographic information, sexual trauma, substance abuse/dependence, psychiatric distress, and sexual history and risk behaviors were collected. The sample for these analyses consisted of 155 African American, 153 European American, and 149 Latina women, and nearly two-thirds of the sample was HIV-seropositive. HIV-positive women were significantly more likely to report more posttraumatic stress, chronic stress, negative health behaviors, drug use, and psychiatric history than HIV-negative women. European American and African American women were more likely to report a history of sexual trauma than Latina women. Finally, Poisson regression analyses revealed that history of trauma, ethnicity, drug and alcohol use, homelessness, and being HIV-positive were associated with greater likelihood of engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors, with history of trauma increasing the likelihood of engaging in high-risk behaviors by 5.1%. These findings highlight important differences among women as a function of ethnicity and HIV status, and underscore the need for special services for HIV-positive women that address the risk-enhancing effects of substance abuse/dependence, homelessness, and sexual trauma.