HIV risk behavior among homeless adults

Very little information is available regarding HIV risk behavior among homeless adults despite increasing evidence that HIV infection disproportionately affects inner-city residents and disadvantaged populations. In the present study, adults (N = 94) entering a storefront medical clinic for the homeless completed an AIDS risk survey. The results suggest that homeless adults are engaging in sexual and substance-use behaviors that place them at high risk for HIV infection. Sixty-nine percent of the present sample was at risk for HIV infection from either 1) unprotected intercourse with multiple partners, 2) intravenous drug use (IVDU), 3) sex with an IVDU partner, or 4) exchanging unprotected sex for money or drugs. Many persons within the sample evidenced multiple risk factors: 45% reported at least two of the risk factors described above and 26% reported three or more risk factors. The results suggest there is an urgent need to develop and evaluate AIDS-prevention strategies for homeless adults.