Sexually transmissible infections (STI) and HIV testing and diagnosis among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal adolescents in contact with the Australian justice system: a cross-sectional study
Patricia Taflan
A * , Paul L. Simpson A , Mandy Wilson B , Jocelyn Jones B , Basil Donovan C , Janaki Amin D , Sally Nathan A and Tony Butler A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
B National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.
C The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
D Department of Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Sexual Health 20(4) 303-314 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH23028
Submitted: 6 February 2023 Accepted: 23 May 2023 Published: 22 June 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Background: It is unclear what factors are associated with sexually transmissible infections (STI) and HIV testing and diagnosis among justice-involved adolescents, and if these differ for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 465 justice-involved adolescents (aged 14–17 years) from Australia was conducted between 2016 and 2018. Participants were asked about sexual behaviours, STI/HIV knowledge, and prior STI diagnoses and testing.
Results: Approximately 38% (n = 130) of those sexually active had ever been screened for STI/HIV and 17.8% (n = 23) had been diagnosed with an STI. No participant reported living with HIV. For Aboriginal participants, being male (aOR 3.6, 95% CI 1.3–10.1) and having under three sexual partners in the past 12 months (aOR 3.1, 95% CI 1.2–8.0) was associated with never having had an STI/HIV test. For non-Aboriginal participants, being male (aOR 2.7, 95%CI 1.2–5.7), single (aOR 2.4, 95% CI 1.2–4.9), attending school (aOR 2.4, 95% CI 1.1–5.1), not having sought sexual health information (aOR 2.8, 95% CI 1.4–5.8), and having a lower STI/HIV knowledge score (aOR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1–5.0) were associated with never having had an STI/HIV test. Factors associated with STI diagnosis were non-heterosexual sexual orientation (aOR 5.6, 95% CI 1.1–28.2), transactional sex (aOR 11.2, 95% CI 3.0–41.3), and having sought sexual health information (aOR 3.5, 95% CI 1.0–12.5).
Conclusions: Males, particularly Aboriginal male adolescents, should be engaged with sexual health promotion and testing services as soon as they come into contact with the justice system. Approaches should consider different cultural, gender and sexual orientations.
Keywords: Aboriginal, adolescents, Australia, justice-involved, sexual behaviours, sexual health, sexually transmissible infections, STI diagnosis, STI/HIV testing.
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