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6B2 Taking the Stigma out of STD Testing: Associations Between an STD Testing Stigma-Reduction Campaign and Youth Attitudes and Behaviors

Friday, September 23, 2016: 9:45 AM
Salon E
Christopher Harper, PhD1, Allison Friedman, MS2, Kate Brookmeyer, Ph.D.3, Melissa Habel, MPH4, Matthew Hogben, PhD5, Rachel Kachur, MPH5 and Mary McFarlane, PhD4, 1Divsion of Adolescent and School Health/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, 2Division of STD Prevention, CDC, NCHHSTP, Atlanta, GA, 3Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, 4Division of STD Prevention, CDC, Atlanta, GA, 5Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

     

Background: The GYT (Get Yourself Tested) Campaign has been associated with increased STD-testing and communication behaviors among youth. We explored whether GYT was associated with reduced STD-associated stigma by assessing the relationship between campaign exposure and STD-testing attitudes and behaviors.

Methods: Through a 2013 nationally representative survey of youth (15-25 years of age, N = 4017), we assessed attitudes towards “people who get tested for STDs” by asking participants to indicate agreement with three positive and three negative attitudes. We then looked at whether youth who recognized the GYT name and logo were more likely than those who did not to endorse positive statements, and whether those reporting more positive attitudes were more likely to report STD testing, information-seeking, and partner communication behaviors. We used multivariate logistic regressions to examine associations, controlling for race/ethnicity and gender.

Results: A majority of youth endorsed positive attitudes towards testers: that they are taking care of their sexual health (78.6%), are responsible partners/lovers (56.4%), and that it should be a regular part of their healthcare (51.8%).  A minority of youth endorsed negative attitudes about testers: that they must have slept with a lot of people (16.4%), are probably cheating (8.1%), and must be dirty (2.7%). Multivariate logistic regressions revealed that GYT-exposed youth (13%) were significantly more likely to endorse positive attitudes than GYT-unexposed youth (aOR range from 1.69 to 2.47, p <0.001).  Additionally, endorsement of positive attitudes was significantly associated with STD information-seeking (aOR range from 3.67 to 4.64, p <0.001) and partner-communication behaviors (aOR range from 2.06 to 4.57, p <0.001). Endorsement of the negative attitudinal items was statistically significantly associated with behavioral outcomes.

Conclusions: GYT-exposed youth were more likely to endorse positive attitudes towards people who get tested, which are positively associated with STD-information seeking, partner communication and testing behaviors.

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