Solutions for Minorities
(47)
A sizeable proportion of the minority population is affected by HIV/AIDS. Though 50% of all lifetime crack injectors in Hartford are white (33), large percentages of HIV infection rates are disproportionately higher among the minority populations. Because of this it is evident that HIV prevention efforts should be better targeted toward these minority populations in order to be more effective.
33.6% and 36.6% of the cases in Hartford County are among the African American and Hispanic populations, respectively (table 1.5). In addition to this, strong correlations exist (.9811 and .9738 respectively) between the African American and Hispanic populations and AIDS cases in Hartford County. Adding to the gravity of the situation is the fact that while African American and Latina women comprise only one-fourth of the US population, they account for 83% of all AIDS cases among US women (12). These numbers are noticeably large, and need to be addressed.
In general, these populations seem to have misconceptions about modes of transmission (20). This can likely be attributed to the barriers that exist in reaching Hispanic groups because of language differences, and in reaching African Americans and Hispanics in terms of media (newspapers, internet, radio) access (20).
The ultimate pursuit of public health should be the highest level of social justice possible. African Americans have expressed their discontent with the public health system (16), and their fear that AIDS is an attack, from ‘outside,’ that HIV was made by the government to try and rid the country of blacks—a genocide and conspiracy, in some terms (10). This distrust of the government has backing; it has come from previous “experiences,” such as the outpouring of racism from the Tuskegee study (16). This, as well as other factors, has led to immense feelings of being enormously underserved and taken advantage of (10).
The recent eruption of HIV/AIDS in African American population can be explained partly by the traditional social and sexual roles of women. These factors contribute greatly to the spread of the disease. The accepted traditions involve a financial, social, and emotional dependence on husbands, and a male-female power imbalance. It is acceptable for the men to have large amounts sexual freedom, while women simply cannot (15). Undoubtedly, a woman who depends heavily on her husband will comply with his sexual wishes, and domestic violence as well as unprotected sex is common. These tendencies tend to enhance the transmission of HIV.
Similarly, in the Hispanic population, high-risk heterosexual contact contributes largely to the transmission of the virus. There is also a tradition of power inequalities between the genders in Hispanic cultures, with a woman’s role being mainly to just concede to any of the [sexual] desires of the male. This leads largely to a female’s reluctance in discussing concerns such as condoms use, for fear of losing her partner or abuse. There is also an enormous socio-economic problem among this population that has led to a lack of formal education and consequently unemployment (38). Not to mention, Hispanics clearly face barring language differences in our English/American society.
While AIDS Project Hartford has a partnership with Latinos Contra SIDA, there appear to be no programs specifically directed at minorities. With a clearly overwhelming amount of these two populations affected by the disease, it is imperative that educational programs targeting these minorities be put into operation. There would undeniably be a huge benefit to the implementation of minority education, especially if the appropriate measures are taken to adopt specifically tailored components for each race/ethnicity (20). NEXT