UNITED STATES: Truth About Sex: 60 Percent of Young Men, Teen Boys Lie About It
Sharon Jayson
USA Today (01.26.10) - Monday, February 08, 2010
Results from an online survey of sex and relationships, including attitudes and sexual history, paint a
complicated picture for young US men.
The Chicago-based youth market research company TRU partnered with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and
Unplanned Pregnancy and Seventeen magazine to conduct the survey of 1,200 males ages 15-22 in November. Of participants, 300 each were ages 15-
16, 17-18, 19-20, and 21-22. The intent was to measure sexual respect, Seventeen said.
Among the findings:
*45 percent said they were virgins.
*60 percent reported lying about something related to sex: 30 percent lied about how far they have gone, 24
percent about their number of sexual partners, and 23 percent about their virginity status.
*78 percent agreed there was "way too much pressure" from society to have sex.
*57 percent of sexually active respondents reported having had unprotected sex.
*53 percent said they had talked with a parent about preventing pregnancy.
*51 percent said having sex before marriage was acceptable in their family.
*66 percent said they could be happy in a serious relationship that did not include sex.
The survey also found a double standard in terms of "hooking up," "friends with benefits" and other areas of
sexual openness: Among males, 53 percent said having a lot of casual partners makes them popular, but 71 percent said it makes girls less
popular.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
JAMAICA: USAID Putting More Resources into HIV/AIDS Campaign
Alicia Dunkley
Jamaica Observer (Kingston) (02.02.10) - Monday, February 08, 2010
The US Agency for International Development wants its HIV prevention funding efforts in Jamaica to reflect the
country's epidemic, according to Dr. Karen Hilliard, the USAID-Jamaica director.
"I think it's fine to target adolescents with messages that they should postpone their sexual activities, but if
they are not the ones in the driver's seat I tend to think our messages are a little misdirected," Hilliard said recently. "It's one thing to
tell adolescents they shouldn't have sex, but we found in our research that they are postponing their sexual activities longer, but it is
coerced sex that's the problem for them and it's not with other young people, it's with middle-aged people, primarily middle-aged men," she
said.
"Jamaica has managed to keep [its 1.8 percent prevalence] somewhat under control because condom use is high here,
but the incidence of things like intergenerational sex, sex for barter or money, and a high level of stigmatization against men who have sex
with men forces it underground," noted Hilliard. "In addition, one of the major drivers is multiple concurrent partners: one person gets
infected and pretty soon everybody is. These are touchy issues to deal with from a societal level, but deal with them we must."
"We are going to be working with the Ministry of Health to try to find more ways to get people to open up to the
idea of being more sexually responsible," Hilliard said.
Under a regional HIV prevention program, USAID will provide Jamaica with $10.7 million this year, Hilliard said.
"We are hoping that over the next four years we will up that amount," she added.
MEDICAL NEWS
AUSTRALIA: Rapid Decline in Presentations of Genital Warts After the Implementation of a National Quadrivalent
Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Program for Young Women
Sexually Transmitted Infections Vol. 85: P. 499-502 (12..09) - Monday, February 08, 2010
Australia has provided free quadrivalent HPV vaccine to 12- to 18-year-old girls through a school-based program
since April 2007 and to women age 26 and younger through general medical practices since July 2007. To determine if the program has had a
population impact on presentations of genital warts, the researchers undertook a retrospective study comparing the proportion of new clients
with genital warts attending Melbourne Sexual Health Center from January 2004 to December 2008.
During the study period, the center saw 36,055 new clients and 3,826 were diagnosed with genital warts (10.6
percent; 95 percent confidence interval [CI] 10.3 to 10.9). The proportion of women younger than 28 diagnosed with warts fell by 25.1 percent
(95 percent CI 30.5 percent to 19.3 percent) per quarter in 2008. Comparing this decline to a negligible increase of 1.8 percent (95 percent CI
0.2 percent to 3.4 percent) per quarter from the start of 2004 to the end of 2007, also in women under 28, generates strong evidence of a
difference in these two trends (p less than 0.001).
"There was no evidence of a difference in trend for the quarterly proportions before and after the end of 2007
for any other subgroup, and on only one occasion was there strong evidence of a trend different to zero, for heterosexual men in 2008 in whom
the average quarterly change was a decrease of 5 percent (95 percent CI 0.5 percent to 9.4 percent; p=0.031).
"The data suggest that a rapid and marked reduction in the incidence of genital warts among vaccinated women may
be achievable through an HPV vaccination program targeting women, and supports some benefit being conferred to heterosexual men," the authors
concluded.
UNITED STATES: Beliefs About Transmission Risk and Vulnerability, Treatment Adherence and Sexual Risk Behavior
Among a Sample of HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex with Men
Heather A. Joseph; Stephen A. Flores; Jeffrey T. Parsons; David W. Purcell
AIDS Care Vol. 22; No. 1: P. 29-39 (01..10) - Monday, February 08, 2010
Optimistic beliefs about HIV transmission risk and STD vulnerability that are generated by advances in HIV
treatment can influence motivation to practice safer sex. The current study's authors sought to understand the relationships between these
beliefs and various types of sexual risk behavior. In addition, the researchers hoped to determine the association between treatment adherence
and sexual risk behaviors.
The study's subjects were 842 HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) who were on treatment; data on the men
were collected and examined. Eleven questions were asked to measure beliefs regarding HIV transmission risk and vulnerability to other
infections or negative health outcomes. The main outcomes were concordant and discordant unprotected anal sex (UAS) with main and non-main male
partners.
The results indicated that 34 percent of the MSM reported concordant UAS and 41 percent reported discordant UAS
in the previous three months. Discordant insertive UAS was reported by 26 percent. At least one belief item remained statistically significant
in all multivariate logistic regression models predicting sexual risk behaviors. Across partner type and serostatus, different patterns of
associations between beliefs and sexual risk were observed.
"Compared to transmission risk beliefs, more vulnerability beliefs were associated with sexual risk," the authors
wrote. Having missed at least one treatment dose in the preceding month was associated with concordant and discordant sexual risk behavior with
non-main partners, while intentionally missing a dose was associated with only discordant risk with non-main partners. The potential
interaction between beliefs and adherence was explored by post hoc moderator analysis. The belief that a low viral load lowers HIV transmission
risk was found to be positively associated with discordant sex with non-main partners only among those who intentionally missed a dose.
"These results underscore the complex relationship between HIV transmission risk and vulnerability beliefs and
sexual behavior with different types of partners," the authors concluded. "Prevention programs should carefully consider how to craft and
tailor messages about medical advances while at the same time reinforcing the need for continued sexual safety."
LOCAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS
NEW JERSEY: AIDS Awareness Effort Extends Digital Reach in Newark
Philip Read
Star-Ledger (Newark) (02.05.10) - Monday, February 08, 2010
On Thursday, a new HIV testing campaign that will target gay African-American men ages 18-24 launched from the
steps of Newark's City Hall. "Status Is Everything" is the brainchild of the Newark-based African-American Office of Gay Concerns (OGC), and it
will rely heavily on social media, text messaging, and viral videos, in addition to traditional billboards, bus and movie screen
advertisements.
The campaign's Web site is www.StatusIsEverything.org. Local venues that offer confidential HIV screening can be
found by texting "NJ" plus a ZIP code (e.g., NJ07102) to 36363. Residents are encouraged to tweet about the campaign on Twitter.com and to send
a "You Need to Know" E-card to others. There are also campaign-related communities on Facebook and Causecast.
In one "real talk" video linked from the Web site, "Louis" candidly discusses the need for HIV testing as video
taken from a moving car shows a leafy park where men cruise for sex with other men. "Condom negotiation is hardly the first thing that comes to
mind," he says in the video, which is also available on YouTube.
OGC tapped Ann Dey, an HIV/AIDS expert from Rutgers University, to conduct focus groups on how best to reach men
who face the stigma of being black and gay. The campaign received about $250,000 from the state Department of Health and Senior Services and
will run for six months.
NEWS BRIEFS
MISSOURI: Mo. Black Population Has Higher HIV Rates
Associated Press (02.08.10) - Monday, February 08, 2010
The rate of newly diagnosed HIV cases is eight times higher for black Missourians than their white counterparts,
the state Health Department said recently. The disparity is particularly high among black females, according to health officials, who are
urging regular testing for HIV and other STDs.
NEW YORK: N.Y. Governor: St. Vincent's Hospital to Get $6 Million in Loans
Associated Press (02.08.10) - Monday, February 08, 2010
The state and secured creditors will give St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan another $6 million as it seeks to
prevent bankruptcy or closure, Gov. David Paterson said Sunday. The 160-year-old hospital operates major HIV/AIDS and trauma centers, and is
more than $700 million in debt. Paterson said the goal of the loan package is to keep St. Vincent's afloat while stakeholders work on plans for
its long-term financial sustainability. The assistance, $3 million from the state and a $3 million match from GE Capital and TD Bank, will help
keep St. Vincent's open until the end of the month, said Paterson.
UNITED STATES: Hiers Named to President's Council
Anna Velasco
Birmingham News (02.03.10) - Monday, February 08, 2010
Kathie Hiers, CEO of AIDS Alabama, has been selected to serve on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS.
The 25-person council is expected to help guide federal efforts to devise a national HIV/AIDS strategy. Hiers has been with AIDS Alabama since
2001. The nonprofit provides education, testing, housing, and other HIV/AIDS-related services.
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