RESUMO
Although the percentage of overall AIDS diagnoses remains low among Asian and Pacific Islanders (APIs) in the United States compared with other racial/ethnic groups, research on API risk behaviors and health status suggest that the low number of AIDS cases may not provide a full picture of the epidemic and issues faced by this understudied and underserved population. Data from national HIV/AIDS surveillance systems and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were examined to delineate the magnitude and course of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among APIs in the United States. Same-sex sexual activity is the main HIV risk for API men, whereas heterosexual contact is for API women. APIs are significantly less likely to report being tested for HIV despite the fact that a similar proportion of APIs and other racial/ethnic groups reported having HIV risk in the past 12 months. Given the enormous diversity among APIs in the United States it is important to collect detailed demographic information to improve race/ethnicity and HIV risk classification, conduct better behavioral and disease monitoring for informing prevention planning, and addressing cultural, linguistic, economic and legal barriers to HIV prevention among APIs.
Assuntos
Asiático/estatística & dados numéricos , Infecções por HIV/etnologia , Havaiano Nativo ou Outro Ilhéu do Pacífico/estatística & dados numéricos , Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Adquirida/epidemiologia , Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Adquirida/etnologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Sistema de Vigilância de Fator de Risco Comportamental , Criança , Estudos de Coortes , Feminino , Infecções por HIV/epidemiologia , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Ilhas do Pacífico/etnologia , Vigilância da População , Estados Unidos/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Accuracy of recall of the number of sexual partners individuals had over a period of one month, three months, six months and one year was studied in a group of 285 young, single, heterosexual adults. Self-reports of the number of partners were obtained on a weekly basis and then compared with recall of behavior over longer time periods that overlapped the weekly measures. For individuals who claimed abstinence or who claimed to be monogamous, accuracy of recall was relatively high, especially at the shorter time frames. Level of education was related to accuracy for claimed abstainers, such that lower levels of education were associated with lower accuracy of recall. Accuracy rates for individuals who reported having multiple sexual partners tended to be lower and were found to be related to one's propensity to engage in casual sex.
