Publications by authors named "Yadira Rolon Colon"
Background: People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) are at a higher risk of acquiring bloodborne infections. We aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in PWID and identify correlates and risk factors using data from the Puerto Rico National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System, PWID cycle 5, conducted in 2018.
Methods: A total of 502 San Juan Metropolitan Statistical Area participants were recruited through the Respondent Driven Sampling method.
Objective: To describe the use and frequency of use of mobile apps (internetand/ or smartphone-based geospatial networking apps) among men who have sex with men (MSM) and how these platforms are used to engage with sexual partners in PR.
Methods: A local module including questions regarding mobile apps and sexual engagement and derived from the 2017 Puerto Rico National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System, fifth MSM cycle, was used for this analysis. A subsample of 127 eligible participants was recruited through venue-based sampling and assented to participate.
Objective: Describe the age-standardized rates of new HIV diagnoses and compare sex and time disparities using data from the HIV/AIDS Surveillance System in Puerto Rico (PR).
Methods: The study comprises data of new HIV diagnoses of persons 13 years of age and older in PR reported from 2003-2014. Other variables included were age, sex, and health regions.
Understanding the short- and long-term transmission dynamics of blood-borne illnesses in network contexts represents an important public health priority for people who inject drugs and the general population that surrounds them. The purpose of this article is to compare the risk networks of urban and rural people who inject drugs in Puerto Rico. In the current study, network characteristics are drawn from the sampling "trees" used to recruit participants to the study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Describe the trend of the indirect standardized death rate of HIV for different modes of HIV transmission from 2003 to 2014 in Puerto Rico. Estimate the magnitude of the association between mode of HIV transmission and mortality at different time periods in Puerto Rico.
Methods: ISDRs by sex and mode of transmission were computed using data from the PR National HIV/AIDS Surveillance System (2003-2014).
Background: Injection drug use and its associated blood-borne infections has become a rapidly increasing problem in rural areas of the US recently. Syringe exchange programs have been shown to be effective for reducing transmission of blood borne infections, however access to these prevention efforts may be limited in rural areas.
Methods: This paper utilizes two separate community samples of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Puerto Rico to achieve the following research objectives: (1) compare rural and urban access to syringe exchange programs, free sterile syringes and other HIV/HCV prevention activities, and (2) examine whether utilization of prevention activities is associated with lower injection risk behaviors.
Factors Associated With Recent Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Puerto Rico, National Human Immunodeficiency Virus Behavioral Surveillance System, 2011.
Sex Transm Dis
June 2016
Background: Annual human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing is considered a key strategy for HIV prevention for men who have sex with men (MSM). In Puerto Rico, HIV research has primarily focused on injection drug use, yet male-to-male sexual transmission has been increasing in recent years.
Methods: Cross-sectional data from the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system collected in 2011 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, were analyzed to identify factors associated with HIV testing in the past 12 months (recent testing).