Christopher S. Murrill ^1*, Kai-lih Liu ¹, Vincent Guilin ², Edgar Rivera Coln ³, Laura Dean ⁴, Lisa A. Buckley ¹, Travis Sanchez ⁵, Teresa J. Finlayson ⁵, Lucia V. Torian ¹

¹ New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
² Gay Men's Health Crisis, NY, NY
³ Gay Men's Health Crisis; Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, NY, NY
⁴ Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, NY, NY
⁵ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cmurrill{at}health.nyc.gov.

	Abstract

Objectives. We measured HIV seroprevalence and associated risk factors among persons in New York City’s house ball community.

Methods. In 2004 we conducted a venue-based risk-behavior survey and HIV testing in the house ball community.

Results. Of the 504 study participants, 67% were male, 14% female, and 18% transgender. Mean age was 24 years (range=15–52 years); 55% were Black, and 40% were Latino. More than 85% of participants had previously been tested for HIV, although only 60% had been tested in the previous 12 months. Of the 84 (17%) persons who tested positive for HIV in our study, 61 (73%) were unaware of their HIV status. A logistic regression analysis on data from 371 participants who had had a male sexual partner in the previous 12 months showed that HIV-infected participants were more likely than were HIV-negative participants to be Black, to be older than 29 years, and not to have been tested for HIV in the previous 12 months.

Conclusions. Culturally specific community-level prevention efforts are warranted to reduce risk behaviors and increase the frequency of HIV testing in New York City’s house ball community.

Key Words: HIV/AIDS, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Persons, African Americans/Blacks, Hispanics/Latinos, Sexual Health, Surveys