Krishna Kota
  • Public Health
  • Class of 2019
  • Atlanta, GA

Krishna Kota Co-Authors Public Health Study on HIV

2017 Feb 6

Krishna Kota of Atlanta co-authored a study on "Contextual, experiential, and behavioral risk factors associated with HIV status: a descriptive analysis of transgender women residing in Atlanta, Georgia."

Kota is a student at the Georgia State University School of Public Health.

The study, published in the International Journal of STD & AIDS, surveyed 92 sexually active transgender women in urban Atlanta in 2014 and 2015 and more than half reported being HIV positive. Most were also Black, unemployed, uninsured and had experienced some form of sexual violence.

The researchers stated that "This HIV prevalence rate is not surprising given our sample resides in an area where the HIV/AIDS epidemic is largely concentrated among African American/Blacks and has some of the highest poverty levels and number of uninsured individuals," and that the self-reported HIV rate among transgender women in Atlanta "is of great concern" because it highlights "a need for behavioral and HIV surveillance systems."