Racial Disparities in Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Women: The Role of Individual Characteristics, Sexual Behavior and Environmental Context

Jami Leichliter, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), CDC
Anjani Chandra, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), CDC
Sevgi O. Aral, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The racial and ethnic disparities in rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are substantial, and research has demonstrated the link between social determinants and STDs. Data from sexually active women from the National Survey of Family Growth in 2002 were used for this analysis. Multilevel models were used to examine the relationship between individual- (demographics; sexual behavior) and contextual-level (census tract; county) factors and receiving treatment for a bacterial STD. Overall, at the individual-level, adolescents (15-19 years) and women with an income < 150% of the poverty level had higher reports of bacterial STD treatment. Women with lower levels of sexual risk had fewer reports of bacterial STD treatment. At the community-level, women living in census tracts with low levels of poverty and a higher proportion of black females had fewer reports of receiving treatment for a bacterial STD. Separate models were conducted by race/ethnicity and will also be presented.