Abstract
Purpose: More than one million Americans are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and less than half of Americans have ever accepted an HIV test. There are no national HIV testing estimates for Muslim Americans, an underserved and often stigmatized population. Considering the lack of HIV testing estimates for this population, we conducted an exploratory study on HIV testing and potential associates in American Muslim women from across the United States.Methods: We applied logistic regression models to examine the Muslim Women's Health Project data, collected in 2015 (N=218).Results: Health care engagement and intimate partner violence were significantly associated with having been tested for HIV. Respondents using contraceptives received an influenza vaccination, and received an abnormal pap test had more than two times higher odds of having been tested for HIV (odds ratio [OR]=2.56, OR=2.43, OR=2.93, respectively; p<0.05 all). Having been sexually abused was associated with more than two times higher odds of having been tested for HIV (OR=2.49; p<0.05).Conclusion: Respondents reported higher rates of HIV testing as compared with the general public, signaling HIV knowledge, engagement in preventative health care, and possibly HIV risk. Scholars and practitioners should not assume that Muslim patients are at low risk for HIV and do not engage in HIV-risk behaviors. Thus, assumptions about Muslims women's willingness to accept HIV testing should be further examined to elucidate HIV risk among this population.
Highlights
More than one million Americans are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and less than half of Americans have accepted an HIV test.[1,2]There are no national HIV testing estimates for MuslimAmericans, an underserved and often stigmatized population.[1,2,3] Islamic doctrine condemns sexual risk behaviors, potentially reducing Muslim populations’ rates of HIV and HIV testing, these assumptions are unsubstantiated
Health care engagement and intimate partner violence were significantly associated with having been tested for HIV
Scholars and practitioners should not assume that Muslim patients are at low risk for HIV and do not engage in HIV-risk behaviors
Summary
There are no national HIV testing estimates for Muslim. An underserved and often stigmatized population.[1,2,3] Islamic doctrine condemns sexual risk behaviors, potentially reducing Muslim populations’ rates of HIV and HIV testing, these assumptions are unsubstantiated. Considering the dearth of information on HIV testing among American Muslims, we analyzed data from 2015 Muslim Women’s Health Project to assess potential associates of HIV testing that could be informative to public health interventionists and clinical practitioners engaged in HIV risk reduction. HIV among people of color and immigrants national estimates of HIV-related behaviors in Muslim Americans are nearly nonexistent, some HIV research has been conducted that examines the behaviors of Muslim majority ethnicities (e.g., Arab Americans, migrants from Muslim majority countries)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
