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African American Women |
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African American Women
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At the start of my research, the statistic that stood out the most was the cumulative HIV/AIDS rate for African Americans in Somerset County, for it is nine times that of the White population (Table 7). Further research revealed the cumulative HIV/AIDS rate for African American females is 1093 per 100,000, which is nearly 17 times the rate of White females in Somerset County (Table 8). Also, one third of the HIV/AIDS diagnoses in New Jersey are women, and African American women HIV/AIDS rate was 27 times higher than the rate of White women from 2003-2004 (Source 4). It is clear that AIDS among African American women is a problem in both Somerset County and the state of New Jersey, and these women need help.
In order to create a solution to prevent further spread of AIDS among African American women living in Somerset County, it is necessary to determine why and how the women are becoming infected. One high risk behavior more women are taking part in is heterosexual anal intercourse. In a study involving questionnaires administered by trained interviewers, it was revealed that 441 women reported having anal intercourse in the last month (1). Of these women, 41.7% were African American (1). This is a problem because studies show anal sex is a highly predictive risk for the contraction of HIV/AIDS (2). A major issue is that about seven times more women reported having unprotected anal sex than homosexual men (2). Women need to be informed that anal intercourse without condoms leaves them at a high risk for contracting HIV/AIDS. Also, in a survey taken by heterosexual couples infected with HIV, it was discovered that 20% of transmission rates were from male to female, while one 1% was from female to male (3). The small percentage of female to male transmission shows that it is more likely for females to contract HIV from males, which puts women at a greater risk for contracting AIDS.
In a study analyzing the sexual behaviors of women over the age of 50, it was determined that high risk sexual behaviors performed by African American women are strongly associated with psychosocial variables (4). Women at a greater risk for contracting HIV/AIDS were those with less education, negative attitudes towards condom use, and had more difficulty communicating to their partner about sexual activities (4). Also, the women in the study did not feel they were at risk for HIV infection, yet 60% of the women reported they had performed at least one risk behavior in the past five years and one-third performed two or more (4). These results reveal that African American women are uninformed and uneducated about sexual risk behaviors associated with HIV/AIDS. The results lead to creating an environment or program where they can learn what behaviors put them at risk for contracting HIV/AIDS, learn the importance of condoms and ultimately feel more comfortable talking about sex.
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