Adverse childhood experiences, HIV and sexual risk behaviors - Five sub-Saharan countries, 2018-2020.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been shown to have negative, lasting effects on health including increasing the likelihood of engaging in sexual risk behaviors.

Objective: This study aimed to identify associations between exposures to ACEs and sexual risk behaviors and HIV service utilization among young people.

Participants And Setting: A sample of 8023 sexually active young people (19-24 year olds) from five sub-Saharan African countries participated Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS).

Understanding Gender-Based Violence Service Delivery in CDC-Supported Health Facilities: 15 Sub-Saharan African Countries, 2017-2021.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a complex issue deeply rooted in social structures, making its eradication challenging. GBV increases the risk of HIV transmission and is a barrier to HIV testing, care, and treatment. Quality clinical services for GBV, which includes the provision of HIV postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), vary, and service delivery data are lacking.

Formative assessment to identify perceived benefits and barriers of HIV oral self-testing among female sex workers, service providers, outreach workers, and peer educators to inform scale-up in Kenya.

In Kenya, HIV prevalence estimates among female sex workers (FSWs) are almost five times higher than among women in the general population. However, only 68% of infected FSWs are aware of their HIV-positive status. We aimed to identify perceived benefits, opportunities, and barriers of HIV self-testing (HIVST) in improving testing coverage among FSWs.

Suffering whether You Tell or Don't Tell: Perceived Re-Victimization as a Barrier to Disclosing Child Sexual Abuse in Zimbabwe.

Disclosing child sexual abuse (CSA) is a necessary first step to access the legal, health, and psycho-social services that survivors and their families need. However, disclosure rates are low: of young women who experienced CSA in Zimbabwe, only 9% disclosed the first incident. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe perceived barriers to disclosing CSA in Zimbabwe.

Scaling Up Testing for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Among Contacts of Index Patients - 20 Countries, 2016-2018.

In 2017, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that worldwide, 36.9 million persons were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, the virus infection that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Among persons with HIV infection, approximately 75% were aware of their HIV status, leaving 9.

Barriers to Physical Activity Among Gay Men.

Gay men may not be physically active at recommended levels to achieve health benefits. Thus, a need exists to identify general (i.e.