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Venues for Meeting Sex Partners and Partner HIV Risk Characteristics: HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN064) Women’s HIV Seroincidence Study (ISIS)

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Abstract

Identifying venues where women meet sexual partners, particular partners who increase women’s risk of acquiring HIV, could inform prevention efforts. We categorized venues where women enrolled in HPTN 064 reported meeting their last three sex partners as: (1) Formal, (2) Public, (3) Private, and (4) Virtual spaces. We used multinomial logistic regression to assess the association between these venues and women’s individual characteristics and reports of their partners’ HIV risk characteristics. The 2099 women reported meeting 3991 partners, 51 % at Public, 30 % Private, 17 % Formal and 3 % at Virtual venues. Women meeting partners at Formal venues reported more education and condom use than women meeting partners at other venues. Fewer partners met through Formal venues had “high” risk characteristics for HIV than through other venues and hence may pose less risk of HIV transmission. HIV prevention interventions can help women choose partners with fewer risk characteristics across all venue types.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the study participants, community stakeholders, and staff from each study site. In particular, they acknowledge Lynda Emel, Jonathan Lucas, Nirupama Sista, Kathy Hinson, Elizabeth DiNenno, Ann O’Leary, Lisa Diane White, Waheedah Shabaaz-El, Quarraisha Abdool-Karim, Sten Vermund, LeTanya Johnson-Lewis, Manya Magnus, Christopher Chauncey Watson, Ann Dey, Aaron Frasier, Makisha Ruffin, Genda Dockery, Lorenna Rodriguez, Noranik Zadeyan, Cheryl Guity, Stephanie Lykes, Ilene Wiggins, Tracey Chambers Thomas, Paula Frew, and Carlos del Rio. Support for this study was provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and National Institute of Mental Health (cooperative agreement Nos. UM1 AI068619, UM1 AI068617, and UM1-AI068613); Centers for Innovative Research to Control AIDS, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University (5U1Al069466); University of North Carolina Clinical Trials Unit (AI069423); University of North Carolina Clinical Trials Research Center of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (RR 025747); University of North Carolina Center for AIDS Research (AI050410); Emory University HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (5UO1AI069418), Center for AIDS Research (P30 AI050409), and Clinical and Translational Science Award (UL1 RR025008); The Terry Beirn Community Programs for Clinical Research on AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (5 UM1 AI069503-07) and; The Johns Hopkins Adult AIDS Clinical Trial Unit (AI069465) and The Johns Hopkins Clinical and Translational Science Award (UL1 RR 25005). The primary author’s work on this manuscript was supported through the HPTN Scholars Program funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and the National Institute of Mental Health. Ms. Haley’s time was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number F31MH105238, the George W. Woodruff Fellowship of the Laney Graduate School, Emory University Ms. Haley’s time was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number F31MH105238, the George W. Woodruff Fellowship of the Laney Graduate School, Emory University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #7240, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7064, USA

    M. Roman Isler

  2. Department of Health Behavior, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    C. Golin

  3. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Statistical Center for HIV/AIDS Research & Prevention (SCHARP), Seattle, WA, USA

    J. Wang

  4. Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    J. Hughes

  5. Department of Epidemiology and Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    J. Justman

  6. FHI360, Durham, NC, USA

    D. Haley

  7. Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    D. Haley

  8. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, DC, USA

    I. Kuo

  9. Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    A. Adimora

  10. Prevention Sciences Program, DAIDS, NIAID, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    W. Chege

  11. New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA

    S. Hodder

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  1. M. Roman Isler
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HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN064) Women’s HIV SeroIncidence Study (ISIS)

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Correspondence to M. Roman Isler.

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Roman Isler, M., Golin, C., Wang, J. et al. Venues for Meeting Sex Partners and Partner HIV Risk Characteristics: HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN064) Women’s HIV Seroincidence Study (ISIS). AIDS Behav 20, 1208–1218 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-015-1057-3

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