Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Education and HIV Risk Behavior: A Survey of Rapid Deployment Troops

Abstract

A paper-and-pencil questionnaire was administered to 1,377 U.S. Army troops from rapid deployment units at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. This yielded 1,368 surveys available for analysis. The primary goal of the survey was to evaluate this group's experience with the Army human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) education program and to determine their level of HIV risk behaviors as related to participation in the Army's HIV education program. Seventy-seven percent of the respondents (1,052 of 1,368) reported receiving some HIV education from the Army. Of those, 55% (578 of 1,052) reported receiving 1 hour of education within the past year. Soldiers of Asian, Native American, and "other" race/ethnicity, and to a lesser extent, Hispanic background, were more likely to report receiving no HIV education compared with whites and African Americans. Self-reported receipt of HIV education did not strongly differentiate individuals in their partner selection or in key sexual risk behaviors in which they engaged.