Human Immunodeficiency Virus Risk Factors and Beliefs Reported by Families Presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department

OBJECTIVESAdolescents are at greater risk for acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) due to increased risk behaviors. Parental influence is known to reduce adolescent risk behaviors. We compared HIV risk behaviors reported by adolescents to parentsʼ perception of adolescent risky behavior enga...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Pediatric emergency care Vol. 34; no. 1; pp. 1 - 5
Main Authors:	Barbour, Worth L, Rodgers, Joel B, Wang, Henry E, Donnelly, John P, Tapley, Amanda M, Galbraith, James W
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Copyright Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved 01-01-2018
Subjects:	Adolescent Adolescent Behavior Emergency Service, Hospital Female Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice HIV HIV Infections - transmission Humans Male Parent-Child Relations Parents - education Prospective Studies Risk Factors Risk-Taking Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:	OBJECTIVESAdolescents are at greater risk for acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) due to increased risk behaviors. Parental influence is known to reduce adolescent risk behaviors. We compared HIV risk behaviors reported by adolescents to parentsʼ perception of adolescent risky behavior engagement. We also examined participantsʼ knowledge of HIV transmission and testing preferences. METHODSParticipants included English-speaking adolescents and parents presenting to a pediatric emergency department. Participants were interviewed separately in private. Modeled after existing instruments, “adolescent” and “parent” questionnaires included multiple choices items, Likert-type scales, and standard yes/no and true/false options. Data were analyzed using a κ statistic and observed agreement to measure discordance between adolescent and parent responses. RESULTSParticipants included 126 adolescents and 110 parents. Many adolescents reported ever having sex (61%), of which 32% reported always practicing safe sex. Comparative analysis revealed low agreement between adolescentsʼ risk behaviors and parentsʼ perception of risk behavior engagement by youth. Discordance concerning tobacco use was greatest (κ = 0.13), followed by drug use (κ = 0.19) and ever having sex (κ= 0.19), and alcohol use (κ= 0.22). There was also poor agreement regarding HIV transmission knowledge (ie, oral sex; κ = 0.16). Participants shared strong agreement regarding parental support for adolescent interest in HIV testing (95.5%). CONCLUSIONSParents are mostly unaware of adolescentsʼ broad risk behaviors. Participantsʼ knowledge of HIV transmission is limited. Adolescents and parents shared strong agreement regarding HIV testing preferences. Multidimensional HIV prevention strategies aiming to decrease adolescent risk behaviors, increase parental involvement, and improve adolescent and parental knowledge of HIV transmission are needed.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0749-5161 1535-1815
DOI:	10.1097/PEC.0000000000000536