Newspapers Focus on Minority Issues for World AIDS Day
Summaries of recent articles related to HIV/AIDS issues among minorities and World AIDS Day appear below.
-
Earth Times: Blacks ages 18 to 26 who engage in low-risk sexual behavior -- no intercourse in the past year and little or no alcohol or drug use -- are nearly 25 times more likely to be infected with a sexually transmitted infection or HIV than whites engaging in the same behavior, according to a study published online Thursday by the American Journal of Public Health. For the study, lead author Denise Hallfors, a senior research scientist at Pacific Institute Research and Evaluation Chapel Hill Center, and colleagues surveyed 8,706 young adults. The report also found that black youth who have few sex partners and low alcohol and drug use in one year are seven times more likely to be infected with HIV or other STIs than whites with the same behavior. In addition, the report said that condom use rates among blacks is more than 50%, while it is about one-third among white youth. While the reason behind the difference in rates is not known, the report speculated that the higher prevalence of HIV and STIs among blacks increases their risk of coming into contact with someone with an STI (Earth Times, 11/30).
An abstract of the study is available online.
-
San Francisco Chronicle: In recognition of World AIDS Day, several not-for-profit organizations in the East Bay area of San Francisco are collaborating to increase HIV/AIDS awareness in the black community, the Chronicle reports. Complications from HIV/AIDS is a leading cause of death for blacks, who in 2006 accounted for nearly 50% newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases nationally, while blacks comprise only 12% of the nation's population. The campaign includes 15 new billboards and free HIV testing for three days, public forums and a news conference. Groups supporting the initiative include the AIDS Project East Bay, Cal-Pep and 100 Black Women of the Bay Area (Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/1).