HIV prevalence and associated factors among adolescent boys and young men in South Africa, 2017

Introduction In South Africa, current epidemic control efforts include strategies to reach all young people and leave no one behind. Hence there is a need to track HIV among adolescent boys and young men (ABYM) to support these efforts. We examined HIV prevalence and associated factors among ABYM aged 15-24 years using the 2017 South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, Behaviour, and Communication Survey. Methods The cross-sectional survey used a multi-stage stratified cluster randomised sample. Descriptive statistics were used to characterise HIV prevalence among ABYM. Multivariate backward stepwise logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with HIV prevalence. Results A total of 4792 ABYM aged 15-24 years were interviewed of whom 4.01% [95% CI: 3.28-4.90] were HIV positive, translating to 255 366 ABYM living with HIV in the country in 2017. The odds of being HIV positive were significantly lower among ABYM with tertiary education level (AOR=0.06 [95% CI 0.01-0.50], p=0.009, employed (AOR=0.34 [95% CI: 0.14-0.81], p=0.015), and those who had tested and were aware of their HIV status (AOR=0.29 [95% CI: 0.10-0.83], p=0.015). Conclusion These findings suggest that ABYM with low educational attainment and those unemployed need to be reached with sexual and reproductive health interventions, including the promotion of uptake of HIV testing and awareness for this population group.