Elon public health studies alumni and faculty publish article in AIDS Patient Care and STDs

Jamie Albright '13, Oliva Varney '13 and Watts-Thompson Professor Cynthia Fair co-authored an article on provider perspectives of the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents with HIV.

The research team studied whether U.S. health care providers perceived differences in the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents with perinatally-acquired HIV (PHIV) compared to those with behaviorally-acquired HIV (BHIV- acquired through sexual activity or intravenous drug use).

The mixed-methods study of 59 medical and social service providers found that 68 percent of providers do perceive differences related to psychosocial, sexual, and medical needs. 

From the abstract:

“Providers perceived adolescents with BHIV as more comfortable discussing sex-related issues, and suggested youth with PHIV were more comfortable accessing health care.  Adolescents with PHIV were thought to have complex medical histories/treatment and greater knowledge of illness/medications.  Existing research on adolescent-reported sexual and reproductive health knowledge and experiences in care suggests provider and adolescent perspectives do not always align. Mode of transmission may provide some information about psychosocial functioning and sexual behavior.  However, assumptions about sexual and reproductive health needs based solely on mode of transmission may contribute to gaps in sexual and reproductive health care.  Future research is needed to examine whether these differing perspectives indeed lead to discrepancies in the care provided to adolescents with HIV.”