INTRODUCTION: HIV disease is thought to be cluster in specific areas rather than be evenly distributed. A study to show a significantly higher HIV risk in certain geographical areas would be beneficial for resource allocation purposes. AIM: The purpose of this study is to describe the demographics of the study population, describe the demographics of those participants that tested HIV-positive, and determine the associations between zip code of residence, HIV infection, and risky behavior. METHODS: Data were collected by Georgia State University’s Center of Excellence for Health Disparities Research for The Geography Project. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were performed on select variables. A p-value of < 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to determine significance. RESULTS: Participants in high risk groups zip codes were roughly 6.7 times more likely to have been given an HIV-positive result prior to the survey (OR=6.717, CI=1.989-22.683, p=.000), 4.4 times more likely to have been infected with HIV at the time of the survey (OR=4.402, CI=2.109-9.187, p=.000), and 1.4 times more likely to have more than 3 sex contacts in the 6 months prior to the survey (OR=1.425, CI=1.075-1.890, p=.014). The association between HIV and persons that identify as transgender was extremely significant (OR= 28.335, CI=8.305-96.678, p=.000). DISCUSSION: The results indicated that participants in the high risk zip codes group were at a higher risk for HIV infection and having 3 or more sex contacts in the 6 months prior to the interview.

INTRODUCTION: The rate of smoking is significantly higher among people living with HIV (PLWH) in comparison to the general population (CDC, 2017b; Humfleet et al., 2009). Tobacco use among PLWH heightens the risk for HIV-related symptoms and is a pertinent public health issue. Smokers living with HIV are also more likely to develop non-AIDS-related illness in comparison to non-smokers living with HIV. Smoking cessation interventions are desperately needed to cater towards PLWH. This warrants the need for patient-provider interactions in healthcare facilities regarding smoking cessation. AIM: To document rates of smoking and visitations to healthcare facilities among persons living with and without HIV in higher vs. lower-risk areas and to examine associations among healthcare visitations, stressors, and smoking in these sub-samples (i.e., PLWH in higher-risk areas, PLWH in lower-risk areas, people without HIV in higher-risk areas, people without HIV in lower-risk areas). METHODS: Secondary analyses were conducted using data from a network-based, HIV endemic study that was conducted in Metro Atlanta (Rothenberg, Dai, Adams & Heath, 2017). The study included 927 participants from 10 Atlanta zip codes (5 lower-risk and 5 higher-risk based on reported HIV cases). Participants provided information on their smoking status and healthcare visitations, as well as whether they had experienced several stressors (e.g., violence, homelessness, being threatened with a weapon, lack of transportation). Descriptive analyses and frequency distributions were conducted and presented on key variables. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between key variables and smoking. RESULTS: Overall, the rate of smoking was quite high in this study. Seventy-four percent of the sample smoked, which is almost five times the smoking rate among the general adult U.S. population (CDC, 2016a). The smoking rate was strikingly high among PLWH in the higher-risk areas (95%). In unadjusted analyses, participants who were older, male, homeless, and do not drive their own car were more likely to smoke. In the adjusted analyses age, gender, and lack of transportation remained significant predictors of smoking. Visitations to healthcare facilities were not significantly associated with smoking or other variables in this study. DISCUSSION: Smoking appears quite common among PLWH, especially those living in higher-risk areas. This study provided important information on the extent to which persons living with and without HIV in higher and lower-risk areas of Atlanta are receiving healthcare services, as well as how demographic factors and stress relate to smoking in these sub-samples. Future research is needed to develop and disseminate effective smoking cessation programs among smokers living with HIV.