The Beehive

In the San Diego area, The Beehive Project is responsible for the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) and has been conducting work since 2003. For the past seven years, the Chicano Federation of San Diego County, Inc. and the California Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS has carried out this surveillance. NHBS is funded by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is conducted in 20 different cities with the highest rates of HIV in the United States. A total of three cities within California participate in this surveillance: San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.

The standard survey conducted at each NHBS site includes questions about general demographics, access to healthcare and prevention services, sexual risk behaviors, alcohol and drug use, as well as STD and HIV testing behaviors. This surveillance was designed to monitor HIV prevalence and risk factors, for HIV infection among each population surveyed, was used to inform both local and federal HIV/AIDS funding and, most recently, has been utilized to direct the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. In addition, each project area is able to include a set of "local questions" created specifically to meet the needs of their individual communities. Each year, one of three different populations is interviewed and HIV tested; this year's population was gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.

The Beehive team obtained permission from over 30 local businesses and organizations, such as restaurants, bars, churches and other social organizations, to recruit men either entering or leaving the venue, or within the venue itself. With assistance from our Community Advisory Board (CAB), the Beehive Project identified the best locations, days and times to attend and made sure that the Beehive Project staff was sensitive to the needs of the community. Men were asked to conduct an interview on a tablet and take an optional HIV test. Interviews were conducted on the streets, and the HIV testing component was conducted inside a white mobile unit that was soon recognized by many. A higher acceptance rate was observed this year, with an increase in the number of participants agreeing to partake in the project, from 23 percent in 2011 to 29 percent in 2014. Although this increase is probably due to a multitude of factors, the Beehive Project believes that the CAB members and community support played a very significant role in the improved survey acceptance.

A total of 602 men completed the 2014 NHBS in San Diego. The participants consisted of about half white (50 percent), a third Hispanic (30 percent) and about equal number of multiple races (7 percent) and African American (7 percent). Age was divided fairly evenly with a little more or less than a quarter of the sample in each age category: 18-29 years (29 percent), 30-39 years (26 percent), 40-49 years (21percent), and 50+ years (24 percent).

The following are a few items that were selected to share for this article. Be aware, they are preliminary findings and are not, as of yet, considered to be finalized data:

� Those who had never been tested for HIV: 4 %
� Those who had not been tested for HIV in the past two years: 24 %
� Those who had 5 or more sexual partners in the past 12 months: 41 %
� Those who did not know the HIV status of the last person with whom they had sex: 24 %

Although it appears as if our shortcomings ares being exhibited, it is clear that a large majority of screened participants have been tested for HIV in their lifetime, which indicates San Diego's success with HIV testing campaigns.

We cannot forget, however, about the 4 percent who have never been tested and the 24 percent who have not been tested in the past two years. Getting tested is important, readily available, and free. Please find your nearest HIV testing site and make an appointment, or just walk in!

The next step is to address the need for regular HIV testing, twice a year or every three months, depending on an individual's personal risk. It is difficult to have a discussion about your HIV status if you haven't had a recent test. However, more than half of San Diego participants were tested two or more times (56 percent) in the past two years, which is very close to the recommended HIV testing frequencies. Good job San Diegans!

Almost half (41 percent) of the participants had five or more sexual partners in the past 12 months. It is important that all involved, are educated in ways to keep themselves and their partners free of HIV. Getting tested and talking about your status with your sex partners is the first step. One of the most important ways to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic, is to create an environment in which individuals can openly discuss their HIV status if they choose; stigma and shame only further fuel the spread of the virus. It is clear that people are talking about their HIV status with their sexual partners and although most men are having the conversation (76 percent), there is still much work to be done to make the disclosure of one's HIV status the social norm.

The Beehive Project would not have been able to collect this valuable data without the help of local venue owners, social organizations and people within the community. We would like to extend a huge "thank you" to all of those who made this year so successful, and a thank you to those of you who have participated in NHBS at any one of twenty sites throughout the United States.

This article is a brief introduction to what kind of data the Beehive Project is collecting throughout the San Diego community. For questions specific to the San Diego community, please contact Veronica Moore at [email protected]. For further information about NHBS, you can access the CDC's site at cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/systems/nhbs.