FSEM 138 - Core: AIDS

An Investigation of AIDS and HIV in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

III. Race

Another factor that I analyzed to find relationships to the AIDS rates in Pittsburgh was race.  The correlation coefficients for the black, white, and Hispanic populations were all significant.   The white population’s correlation coefficient was -0.687 (Table 5), a strong negative correlation, again significant at 99.9% confidence.  Not surprisingly, the black population’s coefficient was 0.664 (Table 5, map 9), almost the exact opposite of the white population’s.  Despite the fact that blacks make up only 12% of Allegheny County’s population, they account for 41% of the cumulative AIDS cases, a startling statistic that is reflected in these correlations.  The Hispanic population has a coefficient of 0.577 (Table 5), and while they make up less than one percent of the population in the county, this correlation shows the areas they live in tend to have higher AIDS rates.  These areas include all of the zip codes with the highest cumulative AIDS rates, including East Liberty (see photos), Manchester, and the North Side (see photos).  These areas have large minority populations and represent the areas in Pittsburgh where the problem of AIDS most noticeably manifests itself in certain races.

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