Understanding HIV Testing Behaviors of Minority Adolescents: A Health Behavior Model Analysis

Rebecca Schnall, Marlene Rojas, Jasmine Travers

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Adolescents and young adults are the fastest-growing age group of people living with HIV infection in the United States. Yet many adolescents and young adults with high-risk behaviors for HIV are unaware of their HIV status and have never had an HIV test. The purpose of our work was to understand minority adolescents' beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors related to HIV testing. We conducted focus group sessions with 41 minority adolescents to assess their perceptions about HIV testing. We triangulated the findings from our focus group data with data from a 125-question survey. Analysis of focus group data demonstrated that Perceived Susceptibility, Perceived Severity, Perceived Benefits, Perceived Barriers, and Cues to Action influenced adolescents' decisions to get tested for HIV. Findings support the need to design interventions that address adolescents' perceived barriers to HIV testing and increase access to and knowledge about HIV testing.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)246-258
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
Volume26
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2015

Keywords

  • Adolescents
  • HIV testing
  • Health belief model
  • Minority

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Advanced and Specialized Nursing

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