Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves: A Nationwide Study of the Social Determinants of Black & Latine Womens' Differences in HIV Testing

Abstract:Black and Latine women comprise 26.3% of the U.S. population, but accounted for 75% of all new HIV infections among women in 2018. Arguably, a key ingredient to reducing HIV infection rates is knowing one's status. A precursor to knowing is actually getting tested for HIV. The more information one has concerning how social determinants serve as conduits and barriers to getting testing, the more beneficial to all communities, and especially marginalized ones. To help fill this gap in knowledge, this paper utilizes Black Feminist theory and intersectionality as theoretical frameworks; employs secondary analysis of the Black and Latine female sample within the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance data from the Center for Disease Control; as well as hierarchical logistical regression modeling to examine the relative impact of health and healthcare, substance use, and key demographics on whether or not a respondent gets tested for HIV. Further, to examine racial differences between these two groups, analyses are performed first for both racial groups and then separately for Black women and Latine women.