Young, Black/African American, and Latino communities are left behind despite legislative efforts in California to reduce HIV/STI disparities
ObjectivesSexually transmitted infections (STI) have been on the rise in the United States with racial/ethnic minority groups, gay and bisexual men, and youth experiencing the highest STI and HIV infection rates. In 2022, California became the first state in the nation to pass legislation, Senate Bi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Reproductive Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frph.2023.1179334/full |
| _version_ | 1797685402371358720 |
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| author | Tommi L. Gaines Dan Werb Dan Werb Orlando Harris |
| author_facet | Tommi L. Gaines Dan Werb Dan Werb Orlando Harris |
| author_sort | Tommi L. Gaines |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ObjectivesSexually transmitted infections (STI) have been on the rise in the United States with racial/ethnic minority groups, gay and bisexual men, and youth experiencing the highest STI and HIV infection rates. In 2022, California became the first state in the nation to pass legislation, Senate Bill 306 (SB 306), requiring health care plans to cover the costs of home test kits for STIs, including HIV. This study examines provisions within SB 306 and its potential to reduce STI and HIV disparities among key demographic groups and geographic regions within California.Study designEcological cross-sectional study involving 58 California counties.MethodsDescriptive statistics and choropleth maps compared HIV/STI prevalence rates, uninsured rates, demographic composition, and healthcare provider coverage across California counties. Three geographically weighted Poisson regression analyses were conducted to separately examine the association between proportion of uninsured and HIV, gonorrhea, and chlamydia prevalence rates.ResultsHIV/STI rates were significantly and positively associated with the proportion of uninsured residents in Central and Southern California counties. These counties had a higher proportion of demographic groups vulnerable to HIV/STI including a large Latino, Black/African American, and younger (age 15–24) population but had a lower rate of healthcare providers with prescription authority for home testing kits, which is a requirement under SB 306.ConclusionsCutting-edge solutions are needed to stem the rising tide of new STI and HIV infections. While SB 306 is novel and innovative in intent, its coverage gaps will increase disparities and inequities among historically underserved populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T00:43:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e82b2524f3634330b1a99e11072f178d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-3153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T00:43:40Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Reproductive Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-e82b2524f3634330b1a99e11072f178d2023-09-14T23:51:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Reproductive Health2673-31532023-09-01510.3389/frph.2023.11793341179334Young, Black/African American, and Latino communities are left behind despite legislative efforts in California to reduce HIV/STI disparitiesTommi L. Gaines0Dan Werb1Dan Werb2Orlando Harris3Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United StatesDepartment of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United StatesCentre on Drug Policy Evaluation, MAP Centre on Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Community Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United StatesObjectivesSexually transmitted infections (STI) have been on the rise in the United States with racial/ethnic minority groups, gay and bisexual men, and youth experiencing the highest STI and HIV infection rates. In 2022, California became the first state in the nation to pass legislation, Senate Bill 306 (SB 306), requiring health care plans to cover the costs of home test kits for STIs, including HIV. This study examines provisions within SB 306 and its potential to reduce STI and HIV disparities among key demographic groups and geographic regions within California.Study designEcological cross-sectional study involving 58 California counties.MethodsDescriptive statistics and choropleth maps compared HIV/STI prevalence rates, uninsured rates, demographic composition, and healthcare provider coverage across California counties. Three geographically weighted Poisson regression analyses were conducted to separately examine the association between proportion of uninsured and HIV, gonorrhea, and chlamydia prevalence rates.ResultsHIV/STI rates were significantly and positively associated with the proportion of uninsured residents in Central and Southern California counties. These counties had a higher proportion of demographic groups vulnerable to HIV/STI including a large Latino, Black/African American, and younger (age 15–24) population but had a lower rate of healthcare providers with prescription authority for home testing kits, which is a requirement under SB 306.ConclusionsCutting-edge solutions are needed to stem the rising tide of new STI and HIV infections. While SB 306 is novel and innovative in intent, its coverage gaps will increase disparities and inequities among historically underserved populations.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frph.2023.1179334/fullHIVsexually transmitted infectionslegislationCaliforniahealth disparitiespolicy |
| spellingShingle | Tommi L. Gaines Dan Werb Dan Werb Orlando Harris Young, Black/African American, and Latino communities are left behind despite legislative efforts in California to reduce HIV/STI disparities Frontiers in Reproductive Health HIV sexually transmitted infections legislation California health disparities policy |
| title | Young, Black/African American, and Latino communities are left behind despite legislative efforts in California to reduce HIV/STI disparities |
| title_full | Young, Black/African American, and Latino communities are left behind despite legislative efforts in California to reduce HIV/STI disparities |
| title_fullStr | Young, Black/African American, and Latino communities are left behind despite legislative efforts in California to reduce HIV/STI disparities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Young, Black/African American, and Latino communities are left behind despite legislative efforts in California to reduce HIV/STI disparities |
| title_short | Young, Black/African American, and Latino communities are left behind despite legislative efforts in California to reduce HIV/STI disparities |
| title_sort | young black african american and latino communities are left behind despite legislative efforts in california to reduce hiv sti disparities |
| topic | HIV sexually transmitted infections legislation California health disparities policy |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frph.2023.1179334/full |
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