AIDS in Indiana County

Project Three: Solutions

Issues and Solutions in Indiana County

What is being done?

What else should be done?

Interview with Beth Burns, from the American Red Cross

Interview with Barbara Hoza, HIV/AIDS Nurse serving Southwestern Pennsylvania

Interview with Malinda Cowle, Head of Indiana County HIV Network

Interview with Head of HIV/AIDS for Indiana County at Community Care Management

At this point, after gathering all of my research, I decided that I would be better served contacting people in Indiana County who are doing something about AIDS, than to try to come up with a plan of action myself.  By searching the web, I found telephone numbers for six HIV/AIDS-related groups in Indiana County and the surrounding area.  I was informed about one of the places, Adagio Health, through my high school health teacher, who told me it was one option for HIV testing in Indiana County.  I also looked into the Indiana County State Health Center, another AIDS testing site that also provides counseling.  The secretary there referred me to an HIV/AIDS nurse for Southwestern Pennsylvania, Barbara Hoza, who she felt would be better able to provide me with the information I desired.  To get a take on educational efforts going on in Indiana County, I contacted the local American Red Cross and talked to Beth Burns. I was also interested in the efforts of the Indiana County HIV Network, based out of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), and was able to speak with the head of that effort, Malinda Cowles.  I also contacted Community Care Management, a resource in Johnstown, in Cambria County, and spoke with the Head of HIV/AIDS for Indiana County.

Two of the places I called were unable to give me information and referred me to other sources, so in the end I conducted four successful phone interviews.  My panel of experts on HIV/AIDS in Indiana County and Southwestern Pennsylvania included Beth Burns, who works in HIV education and prevention at the American Red Cross in Indiana, Barbara Hoza, an HIV/AIDS nurse who serves rural Southwestern Pennsylvania, Malinda Cowles, the head of the Indiana County HIV Network, and another woman who serves as the head of HIV/AIDS for Indiana County at Community Care Management, based out of Johnstown in Cambria County. They provided me with valuable information regarding the services currently being provided in my area, and the problems they encounter there.

In conducting interviews over the phone, I drafted a set of questions to gauge what the HIV/AIDS problem is in Indiana County, and what action is currently being taken to relieve the burden of AIDS. I worked off of a core set of questions, modifying them according to whether the person worked in treatment, testing, prevention, or education, and editing others do to time constraints.  I asked all of the people I talked with to describe what services they or their organization provides to the community regarding HIV/AIDS. Other prompts included to explain their level of concern for HIV/AIDS in the area, and to explain their exposure and experience with the MSM population, if applicable.  Most importantly, though, I surveyed each contact using an adapted version of the Barriers to Care Scale, drawing mainly from Reif’s scale, a modified form of Heckman’s original^[25],[26].  For each barrier, I asked whether they thought it was a problem or concern in Indiana County.  At the end, I asked each person to provide me with any other information, including what solutions they found to be most effective. The results of these telephone interviews were extremely helpful and have given me a much better idea of the problems with HIV/AIDS in my area and what’s being done to fix them.

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