Racial and Ethnic Disparities in HIV Diagnosis Rates by Social Determinants of Health at the Census Tract Level Among Adults in the United States and Puerto Rico, 2021

Background: We compared racial and ethnic disparities in HIV diagnosis rates among adults in census tracts with the most disadvantaged vs. the most advantaged levels of social determinants of health.

Methods: In this ecologic analysis, we used the National HIV Surveillance System data from 2021 and social determinants of health data from 2017-2021 American Community Survey. We measured racial and ethnic disparities stratified by sex in the most disadvantaged quartiles and advantaged quartiles for (1) poverty, (2) education level, (3) median household income, and (4) insurance coverage. We calculated 8 relative disparity measures [Black-to-White rate ratio, Hispanic/Latino-to-White rate ratio, index of disparity (ID), population-weighted ID, mean log deviation, Theil index, population attributable proportion, Gini coefficient] and 4 absolute disparity measures (Black-to-White rate difference, Hispanic/Latino-to-White rate difference, absolute ID, and population-weighted absolute ID).

Results: Comparing the most disadvantaged quartiles with the most advantaged quartiles, all 4 absolute disparity measures decreased, but 7 of the 8 relative disparity measures increased: the median percentage decreases in the absolute measures for men and women, respectively, were 38.1% and 47.6% for poverty, 12.4% and 42.6% for education level, 43.6% and 44.0% for median household income, and 44.2% and 45.4% for insurance coverage. The median percentage increases in the relative measures for men and women, respectively, were 44.3% and 61.3% for poverty, 54.9% and 95.3% for education level, 19.6% and 90.0% for median household income, and 32.8% and 46.4% for insurance coverage.

Conclusions: Racial and ethnic disparities in the most disadvantaged and the most advantaged quartiles highlight the need for strategies addressing the root causes of disparities.