International ArticleToronto street youth and HIV/AIDS: prevalence, demographics, and risks☆
Section snippets
Methods
The study protocol was approved by the Review Committee on the Use of Human Subjects at the University of Toronto. The study included a cross-sectional convenience sample of street youth who hung out at, or accessed material or social support from, five downtown street youth serving agencies or their referral services. These referrals included four group homes, an Aboriginal residence for men, and a federal job training program located in a nearby community center. In addition, a small number
Results
A total of 720 youth participated. Twenty-five interviews and samples (4%) were excluded because they were known or thought to be duplicates (twenty); the information was considered unreliable by the interviewer (two); or the person (a sexual partner of someone younger) was older than 25 years of age (three). Thus, the study included 695 interviews and linked specimen samples. None who were excluded tested positive for HIV/AIDS. Only two male participants declined to provide either a saliva or
Discussion
A significant finding was that the majority of youth who participated in this Toronto street youth study came either from other parts of Canada or another country including the United States. Evidence of immigrant and second-generation Canadians (1 in 10) among the street youth population was a new phenomenon, one not identified in the 1989 baseline national study of Canadian street youth (3). Geographic mobility and ethnocultural complexity characterize the population of emancipated
Conclusion
Street-involved youth in Canada are at increased risk of HIV infection. Monitoring HIV infection among youth whose circumstances put them at high risk for HIV infection is a public health responsibility to ensure appropriate resources and services are made available. While it is important to identify individual risk behaviors associated with HIV infection, it is necessary to identify the social and environmental determinants of HIV transmission. Individuals become infected with HIV/AIDS in the
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This study was supported by the Federal Centre for AIDS, Health, and Welfare, Canada, Contract No. H4078-0-C931/01-SS.