S.H.O.V.E.

http://www.stlefa.org/Community_Mobilization.php

Click on the Bus for more information about S.H.O.V.E.

http://stlouis.about.com/library/blstfrances.htm

Click on the Church for more information about D.E.C.K.

Click for TOTAL COSTS

            The HIV/AIDS epidemic is continually becoming a greater issue in St. Louis. The new question is, “what should be done in the areas that are affected the most?” The task of the public health official is to figure out why there are high rates in some areas and then, figure out what to do about the high rates. In St. Louis, Missouri, the problem that the public health official needs to focus on is located centrally in the black community. The official needs to focus on ways to combat the high AIDS rates in the black community. Using my information, located in the correlations section, the public health official must focus on the black community, particularly those with low incomes, and those with educational levels lower than 12^th grade, as well as the STD rates, which all showed particularly high correlations with the AIDS. Essentially, to tackle these issues, the likely remedy is to institute prevention measures for HIV control. Although some prevention measures are currently funded heavily by a CDC prevention grant[1] not all are funded under this grant and more money needs to be raised for this cause.

            As a public health official, I would propose that we implement a non-traditional outreach program by using a new Mobile Testing Unit which will be called the St Louis Health Outreach Van for the Economically restricted – SHOVE. This van is an extension of the current Mobile Testing Unit, in St. Louis, that is organized by the St. Louis Effort for AIDS.[2] SHOVE will focus on the zip codes of 63101, 63102, 63103, 63104, 63106, 63107, 63108, and 63118 where the blacks have low education, low incomes, and high rates of STDs. I decided to use a mobile testing unit because people may not be able to reach free clinics to get tested. Particularly, there is a large economic basis for why this program will be extremely effective, especially for the poor black community in which HIV/AIDS is a major issue. Its purpose will be to educate the community about high risk behaviors and HIV/AIDS and STDs, while providing testing and counseling to the black community.

            The overall estimated direct cost of STDs, including HIV, in Missouri is $151.7 million dollars[3] annually.[4] The city of St. Louis, Missouri allocates about $2.3 million dollars for all communicable diseases.[5] There is a need of mobile testing unit because money for health care was cut out of the budget in Missouri and less people were able to receive Medicare. The budget cut, removed $626 million dollar from Medicaid across the entire state.[6] This cut in Medicare, will make it even harder for poor, underprivileged, low-income families to get medical care.