Patient / Public:
Health Professional:
Article Opinions:	php?associatednewsid=155481′ rel=’nofollow’>0 posts

A three-year initiative City Room” reports. The “Bronx Knows” campaign began with an effort to make voluntary HIV testing routine in emergency departments and clinics, where city officials said, “cumbersome consent procedures required by state law have deterred doctors from offering the tests,” according to “City Room” (Chan, “City Room,” New York Times, 6/24). The initiative - which involves clinics, hospitals and community organizations - tested nearly 160,000 Bronx residents in the past 12 months (United Press International, 6/24). The city also is participating in National HIV Testing Day on Saturday (”City Room,” New York Times, 6/24).

This information was reprinted from dailyreports.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily U.S. HIV/AIDS Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at dailyreports.kff.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

University of Minnesota Medical School researcher Iris Borowsky, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues found that one in seven adolescents believe that it is highly likely that they will die before age 35, and this belief predicted that the adolescents’ would engage in risky behaviors.

Borowsky and colleagues analyzed data collected by the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative sample of more than 20,000 youth in grades 7 through 12 during three separate study years. In the first set of interviews, nearly 15 percent of adolescents predicted they had a 50/50 chance or less of living to age 35. Those who engaged in risky behaviors such as illicit drug use, suicide attempts, fighting, or unsafe sexual activity in the first year were more likely in subsequent years to believe they would die at a young age. Vice versa, those who predicted that they’d die young during the first interview were more likely in later years to begin engaging in these same risky behaviors and have poor health outcomes. Notably, these teens were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with HIV/AIDS just six years later, regardless of their sexual preference.

“While conventional wisdom says that teens engage in risky behaviors because they feel invulnerable to harm, this study suggests that in some cases, teens take risks because they overestimate their vulnerability, specifically their risk of dying,” Borowsky said. “These youth may take risks because they feel hopeless and figure that not much is at stake.”

Nearly 25 percent of youth living in households that receive public assistance and more than 29 percent of American-Indian, 26 percent of African-American, 21 percent of Hispanic, and 15 percent of Asian youth reported believing they would die young - compared to just 10 percent of their Caucasian peers.

“Our findings reinforce the importance of instilling a sense of hope and optimism in youth,” Borowsky said. “Strong connections with parents, families, and schools, as well as positive media messages, are likely important factors in developing an optimistic outlook for young people.”

She also notes that study findings support physician screening of adolescents for this perceived risk of early death. “This unusually common pessimistic view of the future is a powerful marker for high-risk status and thus deserves attention.”

There was no significant relationship between perceived risk of dying before age 35 and actual death from all causes during the six year study period.

The study “Health Status and Behavioral Outcomes for Youth Who Anticipate a High Likelihood of Early Death,” will be published in the July issue of Pediatrics. The study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies.

Source:
Laura Stroup

University of Minnesota

Patient / Public:
Health Professional:
Article Opinions:	php?associatednewsid=155807′ rel=’nofollow’>0 posts

President Obama on Saturday released a statement marking National HIV Testing Day that urged U.S. residents to get tested for HIV and work toward reducing the spread of the virus, Bloomberg/Arizona Daily Star reports (Bloomberg/Arizona Daily Star, 6/28). Obama said in the statement, “Each of us must take responsibility for reducing our risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV and for supporting affected individuals and communities. This means getting tested for HIV and working to end the stigma and discrimination people living with HIV face.” The White House also released a video message with Obama’s statement (White House release, 6/27).

This information was reprinted from dailyreports.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily U.S. HIV/AIDS Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at dailyreports.kff.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.