Assessment of Feasibility of Face Covering in School-Aged Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

This cohort study reports the outcomes of using positive behavior supports to promote masking in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) attending a summer day treatment program.

HIV Prevalence Among Women Who Exchange Sex for Money or Drugs-4 U.S. Cities.

Background: Limited data exist in the United States on the prevalence of HIV among women who exchange sex.

Setting: We estimate HIV prevalence of women who exchange sex from a 2016 survey in Chicago, Detroit, Houston, and Seattle and compare it with the prevalence of HIV among women of low socioeconomic status (SES), who did not exchange sex, and women in the general population.

Methods: Women who exchange sex were recruited via respondent-driven sampling among some cities participating in National HIV Behavioral Surveillance, interviewed, and offered HIV testing.

Increasing methamphetamine injection among non-MSM who inject drugs in King County, Washington.

Background: In King County, Washington, the HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) who inject methamphetamine is high, while it is low among other people who inject drugs (PWID). Local drug problem indicators suggest that methamphetamine use is increasing. The extent to which this increase affects MSM and non-MSM, and whether MSM and non-MSM networks are connected through injection equipment sharing, is unknown.

A Decline in HIV Testing Among Persons Who Inject Drugs in the Seattle Area, 2004-2015.

Background: Promoting HIV testing is a key component of the public health response to HIV. Assessing HIV testing frequency among persons who inject drugs (PWID) monitors the status of these efforts and can identify unmet needs and opportunities to more effectively promote testing.

Methods: Data were combined from 4 Seattle-area surveys of PWID from the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) program (2005-2015) and 6 surveys of Needle Exchange clients (2004-2015).

Brief Report: Nonfatal Overdose Events Among Persons Who Inject Drugs: Findings From Seven National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Cities 2009 & 2012.

The rate of drug and opioid overdose deaths in the United States has more than tripled over the past 15 years. The ability to conduct public health surveillance on nonfatal overdoses is limited. The current study used National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) data to estimate recent and lifetime history of nonfatal overdose events in persons who inject drugs in 7 cities.

Understanding Engagement in HIV Risk and Prevention Research Among Black Young Men Who Have Sex with Men and Transgender Women in the District of Columbia.

Purpose: To develop optimal methods to study sexual health among black young men who have sex with men and transgender women (BYMSM/TW).

Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods prospective study to identify recruitment and retention strategies for BYMSM/TW (age 16-21) in Washington D.C.

Receipt of HIV prevention interventions is more common in community-based clinics than in primary care or acute care settings for Black men who have sex with men in the District of Columbia.

Characterization of structural barriers that impede the receipt of HIV prevention and care services is critical to addressing the HIV epidemic among Black men who have sex with men (BMSM). This study investigated the utilization of HIV prevention and general care services among a non-clinic-based sample of BMSM who reported at least one structural barrier to engagement in care. Proportions of participants who had received HIV prevention services and general care services in different settings were compared using Fisher's exact test and correlates of service receipt were assessed using logistic regression.

Acceptability of a Mobile Smartphone Application Intervention to Improve Access to HIV Prevention and Care Services for Black Men Who Have Sex with Men in the District of Columbia.

Eliminating racial HIV disparities among men who have sex with men (MSM) will require a greater uptake of HIV prevention and care interventions among Black MSM (BMSM), yet such strategies generally require meaningful engagement in a health care system that often does not meet the unique needs of BMSM. This study assessed the acceptability of, and correlates of having favorable perceptions of, a mobile smartphone application (app) intervention for BMSM that aims to remove structural barriers and improve access to culturally relevant HIV prevention and care services. An Internet-based sample of 93 BMSM completed an online survey on their perceptions of the app using 14 items measured on a 100-point visual analogue scale that were validated in exploratory factor analysis (alpha=0.

Measuring exposure to sexually explicit media among young men who have sex with men: a pilot study.

Unlabelled: Background Sexually explicit media (SEM) consumption may contribute to sexual risk-taking among young men who have sex with men (YMSM).

Methods: The prevalence and frequency of SEM consumption as well as associations with contextual and sexual risk characteristics among 61 YMSM were estimated.

Results: All participants (n=61, 100%) reported viewing SEM; 45 (74%) in the past week.

Brief Report: Increasing Acceptance of Homosexuality in the United States Across Racial and Ethnic Subgroups.

After recent civil rights expansions for sexual minorities in the United States, we updated previous findings on population-level attitudes toward homosexuality measured in the General Social Survey. In 2014, 40.1% of respondents reported that homosexuality was "always wrong" compared with 54.

The use of web-based diaries in sexual risk behaviour research: a systematic review.

Background: An increasing number of studies have used the diary method, which provides quantitative event-level data about sexual encounters. Diaries are an attractive tool for sexual behaviour research, yet little is known about the range of uses, methodological issues and best practices associated with this technology.

Objectives: To conduct a systematic review of the literature regarding the use of web-based diaries in sexual risk behaviour studies.

Understanding structural barriers to accessing HIV testing and prevention services among black men who have sex with men (BMSM) in the United States.

Structural-level factors have contributed to the substantial disproportionate rates of HIV among Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) in the United States. Despite insufficient HIV testing patterns, however, there is a void in research investigating the relationship between structural factors and access to HIV testing and prevention services among BMSM. Building on previous scholarly work and incorporating a dynamic social systems conceptual framework, we conducted a comprehensive review of the literature on structural barriers to HIV testing and prevention services among BMSM across four domains: healthcare, stigma and discrimination, incarceration, and poverty.

High rates of incident and prevalent anal human papillomavirus infection among young men who have sex with men.

Background: There are few published estimates of anal human papillomavirus (HPV) infection rates among young men who have sex with men (YMSM).

Methods: We estimated incidence and prevalence of type-specific anal HPV infection using clinician-collected anal swabs for HPV DNA testing obtained during a 1-year prospective study of 94 YMSM (mean age, 21 years) in Seattle.

Results: Seventy percent of YMSM had any HPV infection detected during the study, and HPV-16 and/or -18 were detected in 37%.

Sexually transmitted infections among HIV-infected adults in HIV care programs in Kenya: a national sample of HIV clinics.

Background: Identifying sexually transmitted infections (STI) in HIV-infected individuals has potential to benefit individual and public health. There are few guidelines regarding routine STI screening in sub-Saharan African HIV programs. We determined sexual risk behavior and prevalence and correlates of STI in a national survey of large HIV treatment programs in Kenya.

Web-based sex diaries and young adult men who have sex with men: assessing feasibility, reactivity, and data agreement.

We compared quantitative diary data with retrospective survey data collected from a cohort of young adult men who have sex with men (MSM) in Seattle, Washington. Ninety-five MSM, aged 16-30 years, completed web-based surveys every 3 months and were randomized to 4 diary submission schedules: every 2 weeks, once a week, twice a week, or never. We calculated diary completion rates and assessed agreement between daily diary data and aggregate retrospective survey data for sexual behavior measures.

A comparison of sexual behavior patterns among men who have sex with men and heterosexual men and women.

Objective: Men who have sex with men (MSM) have higher rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections than women and heterosexual men. This elevated risk persists across age groups and reflects biological and behavioral factors; yet, there have been few direct comparisons of sexual behavior patterns between these populations.

Methods: We compared sexual behavior patterns of MSM and male and female heterosexuals aged 18-39 using 4 population-based random digit dialing surveys.

Persistence of racial differences in attitudes toward homosexuality in the United States.

Background: Stigma may mediate some of the observed disparity in HIV infection rates between black and white men who have sex with men (MSM).

Methods: We used data from the General Social Survey to describe race-specific trends in the US population's attitude toward homosexuality, reporting of male same-sex sexual behavior, and behaviors that might mediate the relationship between stigma and HIV transmission among MSM.

Results: The proportion of blacks who indicated that homosexuality was "always wrong" was 72.