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## Breadcrumb

            -           National Resource Center for HIV/AIDS Prevention Among Adolescents      

# National Resource Center for HIV/AIDS Prevention Among Adolescents

Despite stable rates of HIV diagnosis in older populations, the rate of HIV diagnoses from 2006 to 2009 has increased in youth 15 – 24 years of age, and was highest in the 20 – 24 year-old age group.1 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, undiagnosed HIV cases are also thought to be highest among young people. In fact, CDC estimates more than half of all undiagnosed HIV infections are in youth ages 13 – 24.2
                      - Of adolescent HIV diagnoses, almost 70 percent are to black teens, even though they constitute a much smaller proportion of the adolescent population in the U.S.
                      - Almost 80 percent of all adolescent infections are to males. Nine out of 10 adolescent male HIV infections result from male-to-male sexual contact. The same proportion of adolescent females is infected from heterosexual contact.
                      - The highest concentrations of HIV diagnoses among adolescents are in the Southeastern United States and, specifically, Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana. 3

Although HIV testing is widely available, self-reported rates of HIV testing have remained flat in recent years.4 Forty-six percent of high school students have had sex at least once, yet only 13 percent report ever having had an HIV test.5

The National Resource Center for HIV/AIDS Prevention among Adolescents (Center) is supported by the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with funding from the Secretary’s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund. The goal of this center is to build national capacity in HIV/AIDS prevention among youth by providing a central, online location for resources, professional literature, evidence-based programs and practices, and technical assistance to youth-serving agencies and professionals.

***Screening Recommendations for HIV***

Sexually active adolescents at high risk should be tested for HIV. According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, being at risk includes factors such as males who have sex with other males; having unprotected sex with multiple partners; trading sex for money or drugs; using injection drugs or having partners who do; and adolescents having other STDs. At risk also includes sexually active adolescents who receive health care in a setting in which HIV prevalence is high.6

**Curious about what you can do to prevent HIV in adolescence?**

***Communities can:***

                        - Work with schools to implement sexual education programs.  Nationally, the percentage of public schools delivering HIV/AIDS, other STD, and pregnancy prevention education in grades 6-8 has declined. 7  Curious about the percent of high school students ever taught about HIV/AIDS in your state?  Check out OAH’s state fact sheets  for information on this and many others facts on your state's teens. Also, check out the new tip sheet from the CDC:  HIV Testing Among Adolescents: What Schools and Education Agencies Can Do .

***Parents can:***

                        - Talk with their teen about their sexual health and contraception decisions.  Talking with Teens , OAH’s site for parents and other caring adults, can help parents start and maintain a conversation with adolescents about their sexual decisions that includes facts about HIV and AIDS.
                        - Access strategies for talking with adolescents about their dating and sexual behavio r , abstinence and contraception, avoiding teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and having healthy relationships.
                        - Help their adolescent get tested.  The  HIV/AIDS Prevention & Service Provider Locator  is a first-of-its-kind, easy-to-use, location-based search tool that helps you find testing services, housing providers, health centers and other service providers near your current location. For more national HIV and STD testing resources, visit  http://HIVTest.CDC.Gov .

***Healthcare Providers can:***

                        - Talk to adolescent patients about their sexual behavior.  These discussions should be thorough and non-judgmental in order to identify whether an adolescent is sexually active, and then to screen for high-risk behaviors, like unprotected sex, multiple partners, and drug use.
                        - Screen sexually active adolescent patients for STDs.  The presence of other STDs, including Chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and trichomoniasis, increases an individual’s susceptibility to contracting or transmitting HIV. 8

**References**

*HIV Surveillance Report, 2009; Volume 21. *here*HIV Surveillance---United States — 1981–2008.*here*Slideshow: HIV surveillance in adolescents and young adults*here*HIV/AIDS at 30: A public opinion perspective. *here* Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance - 2011. *here*Screening for HIV. *here*HIV, Other STD, and Pregnancy Prevention Education in Public Secondary Schools — 45 States, 2008–2010. *here*The role of STD detection and treatment in HIV prevention- CDC Fact Sheet.*here

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