Issues with Targeting

Unique Issues

Existing Programs

The Solution Part One: Testing

The Solution Part Two: Prevention

Costs

Works Cited

As treatment for AIDS becomes more effective in the US, and thus Santa Clara County, people can expect to live longer and have a higher quality of life, which would most likely include sexual partners (Beall, Jr., et al.). This increases the numbers of “vectors of transmission” (Beall, Jr., et al.) in the area. So, although people have a better quality of life now living with AIDS than they did back in the 80s and 90s, the opportunities to pass the disease become greater in number. Santa Clara County is an affluent area, with a median household income (1999) of $74,335, which is substantially greater than the median household income in all of California, at $47,493 (Income and Poverty Level 1999). Also, the percent of the population below the poverty level is half of what it is in all of California, at 7.5% versus 14.2% (Income and Poverty Level 1999) According to the Census Bureau, a single householder under 65 was considered poor in 2000 if his annual income was less than $8,794 (Poverty 2000). In Santa Clara County, approximately 88% of the population had some type of insurance coverage (Santa Clara County). This is higher than California, where in the 12 months preceding the study, 21% of Californians had been uninsured at some point (Brown, et al.). This indicates that reaching the population at risk for HIV/AIDS in Santa Clara County through their health care providers and routine check-ups at hospitals and clinics could be an effective tactic.

Santa Clara County, being near the heart of the gay movement in San Francisco, is an area more open and accepting of different lifestyles than many other communities in California and the United States. Rather than one concentrated “gay neighborhood” which is common in many areas, there is a relatively even spread of those who live in same-sex partner households throughout the county. However, these numbers cannot describe all same-sex relationships that occur in the county because some people may have same-sex relationships but not live together, or still call themselves “heterosexual,” a problem found in the “down-low” black community. So it is important to target these groups as well when creating a solution.