This issue of Positively Aware has been in the works for nearly two years. It seeks to address some of the multifaceted issues surrounding HIV/AIDS in minority communities in the U.S., particularly among African Americans, the community in the U.S. most disproportionately affected by this virus.
More importantly, this issue of PA takes a look at what can be done to try to start to improve upon the grim outlook portrayed by some of the most recent, jarring statistics. Many of these stats you have already heard, and will read again throughout this issue, but some of them bear repeating here:
- African Americans represent 12% of the U.S. population, yet account for over half of new HIV infections.
- African American and Hispanic women together represent less than one-quarter of all women in the U.S., yet make up more than three-quarters of AIDS cases among women.
- Today, people under the age of 25 represent half of all new HIV infections each year, and 56% of those are African American.
- A recent Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study of gay and bisexual African American men in five major cities in the U.S. found that 46%—nearly half—were HIV-positive.
At a recent forum in Los Angeles, Carrie Broadus, executive director of Women Alive, noted that “a misperception still exists among some in the Black community that HIV only affects White men who have sex with men, commercial sex workers and injection drug users.” This belief contributes to rising infection rates among groups who may not think they are at risk.
Recent legislation passed in California and Illinois seeks to address the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on the African American community by coordinating prevention and services in a more comprehensive manner, and thereby improve health outcomes for African Americans living with HIV/AIDS.
Join a clinical trial!
What can be done to stem the swelling tide of HIV flooding our communities of color? In addition to some of the innovative programs and inspirational individuals you will read about in this issue, you could consider joining a vaccine or drug clinical trial. The number of minority and women participants in trials are dismally low, typically around 10% or less, and unfortunately do not adequately reflect the changing face of HIV/AIDS. According to the CDC, in 2003 women constituted 28% of HIV/AIDS cases in the United States, and approximately 69% of those cases were among non-Hispanic Black women.
Women and minorities, African Americans in particular, are grossly underrepresented in many ongoing and completed trials, for reasons ranging from a historical distrust of the medical establishment, to poor recruitment and retention of minorities and women in clinical trials. In this month’s Treatment Series, Dr. David Malebranche examines this issue as part of his reporting on adverse health outcomes for Black Americans with HIV—nature vs. nuture.
Some women may think twice before joining a study due to some of the exclusionary criteria for the study itself. For example, some investigational agents may have interactions with hormones that are used for contraception or hormone replacement therapy; another possibility is that a woman who may want to become pregnant during the course of a two-year study will be excluded from that trial. However, it’s vital that women and minorities take part in these studies in real-world numbers, in order to safely and effectively measure how these drugs and vaccines will perform in these target populations. Visit http://www.acria.org/clinical/clinical_res_explained.html for more information or if you are considering joining a study.
Thankfully, many pharmaceutical companies and researchers are ramping up their efforts to recruit more women and minorities into studies. A recent investigators meeting for an upcoming trial clearly stated on the front of their pamphlet that the company needs more women in the trial, and encouraged investigators and trial sites to do their best to recruit more women.
And lest we forget, the need for new treatments and vaccines is as urgent as ever. We’ve recently lost several strong voices in our community, including Jeff Palmer, a treatment activist and the founder of Positives for Positives in Wyoming; and LeRoy Whitfield, who used to work with many of us here at TPAN, was a former writer and Associate Editor of Positively Aware, Senior Editor at POZ magazine, and more recently a regular contributor to HIV Plus, where he recounted his struggles of living with HIV. Jeff and LeRoy, we will miss you both.
I’d personally like to thank Associate Editors Enid Vázquez and Keith Green for doing such a fantastic job of putting together this important issue of PA.
AIDS continues to devastate our communities, and more and more, our communities of color. We all need to join together in the struggle, and fight to save not only ourselves, but all of our brothers and sisters as well.
Take care of yourself, and each other,
Jeff Berry
Editor
publications@tpan.com
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