Black Women S Risk For Hiv

Black Women's Risk for HIV: Rough Living is a valuable look into the structural and behavioral factors in high-risk environmentsspecifically inner-city neighborhoods like the Rough in Atlantathat place black women in danger of HIV infection. Using black feminism to deconstruct the meaning and significance of race, class, and gender, this text gives a voice to a unique disenfranchised population and legitimizes their lives and experiences. This important ethnographic study focuses not only on the problems associated with the continued rise in HIV rates among African American women, but provides viable solutions to these problems as well.

From their posts at the center of the pandemic - in the laboratory, the academy, clinics, and community based organizations - experts such as Evelynn Hammonds, Risa Denenberg, Michelle Murrain, and Paul Farmer criticize blind spots in the recognition and treatment of HIV in women and articulate accessible and practical solutions to specific areas of difficulty.

More people in communities of color are contracting, living with, and being treated for HIV/AIDS than ever before. In 2005, 71% of new AIDS cases were diagnosed in people of color. The rate of HIV infection in the African-American community alone has increased from 25% of total cases diagnosed in 1985 to 50% in 2005. Latinos similarly comprise a disproportionate segment of the AIDS epidemic: though they make up only 14% of the U.S. population, 20% of AIDS cases diagnosed in 2004 were Latino/a. Though the number of racial and ethnic minority HIV/AIDS cases continues to grow, the health care community has been unable to adequately meet the unique medical needs of these populations. African-American, Latino/Latina, and other patients of color are less likely to seek medical care, have sufficient access to the health care system, or receive the drugs they need for as long as they need them. HIV/AIDS in Minority Communities acknowledges the prevalence of HIV/AIDS within minority communities in the U.S. and strives to educate physicians about the barriers to treatment that exist for minority patients. By analyzing the main causes of treatment failure and promoting respect for individual and cultural values, this book effectively teaches readers to provide responsive, patient-centered care and devise preventive strategies for minority communities. Comprehensive chapters contributed by physicians with extensive experience dealing with HIV/AIDS in minority communities cover issues as far-reaching as: anti-retroviral therapy; dermatologic manifestations and co-morbidities of the disease in patients of color; unique risks to women and MSMs of color; participation of minority cases in HIV research; and substance abuse and mental health issues.

Among U. S. racial and ethnic minority populations, African American communities are the most disproportionately impacted and affected by HIV/AIDS (CDC, 2009; CDC, 2008). The chapters in this volume seek to explore factors that contribute to this disparity as well as methods for intervening and positively impacting the e- demic in the U. S. The book is divided into two sections. The first section includes chapters that explore specific contextual and structural factors related to HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention in African Americans. The second section is composed of chapters that address the latest in intervention strategies, including best-evidence and promising-evidence based behavioral interventions, program evaluation, cost effectiveness analyses and HIV testing and counseling. As background for the book, the Introduction provides a summary of the context and importance of other infectious disease rates, (i. e. , sexually transmitted diseases [STDs] and tubercu- sis), to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in African Americans and a brief introductory discussion on the major contextual factors related to the acquisition and transmission of STDs/HIV. Contextual Chapters Johnson & Dean author the first chapter in this section, which discusses the history and epidemiology of HIV/AIDS among African Americans. Specifically, this ch- ter provides a definition for and description of the US surveillance systems used to track HIV/AIDS and presents data on HIV or AIDS cases diagnosed between 2002 and 2006 and reported to CDC as of June 30, 2007.

In "Holding On," anthropologist Alyson O Daniel analyzes the abstract debates about health policy for the sickest and most vulnerable Americans as well as the services designated to help them by taking readers into the daily lives of poor African American women living with HIV at the advent of the 2006 Treatment Modernization Act. At a time when social support resources were in decline and publicly funded HIV/AIDS care programs were being re-prioritized, women s daily struggles with chronic poverty, drug addiction, mental health, and neighborhood violence influenced women s lives in sometimes unexpected ways. An ethnographic portrait of HIV-positive black women and their interaction with the U.S. healthcare system, "Holding On" reveals how gradients of poverty and social difference shape women s health care outcomes and, by extension, women s experience of health policy reform. Set among the realities of poverty, addiction, incarceration, and mental illness, the case studies in "Holding On" illustrate how subtle details of daily life affect health and how overlooking them when formulating public health policy has fostered social inequality anew and undermined health in a variety of ways."

Throughout the world, the threat of HIV/AIDS to women’s health has become the focus of increased concern. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (2004) reports that almost 20 million women and girls are living with HIV globally, accounting for nearly half of all people living with HIV worldwide. Infection rates among women are rising in every region worldwide including high-income countries in which heterosexual intercourse may now be the most common mode of transmission. Although there are many contributing factors to the current trends in HIV, most women who become HIV-infected do not practice "high-risk" behaviour. Women worldwide may individually view themselves as less susceptible than men, and may pay less attention about how HIV is transmitted and how to prevent infection. There are also gender inequalities, stemming from sexual double standards that constrain women’s access to care, treatment, and support. This work focuses on international perspectives on women and HIV casting a deliberately wide net addressing the issue of the interaction between HIV and gender in a specific geographic area. Our intention is to provide a forum for innovative manuscripts whose contribution to the literature is found in their unique approach to this interaction and application of empirical investigation to unique problems and/or populations. This material was published in the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment.

HIV/AIDS is holding firm as one of the worst diseases in history and the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa. This collection of essays shares various case studies from sub-Saharan Africa and one from the African Diaspora that demonstrate how multi-faceted women's lives, and thus their HIV risk, are. Notwithstanding women's marginalisation, the essays in this volume maintain that women in Africa are not merely puppets of globalisation, cultural norms, or biological imperatives, but rather agents in their own livelihoods. In each case we see women presented with many challenges that they must navigate in order to mitigate their HIV risk. Some of the most trying challenges are based on economic and political structures that occur at various scales, from the global to the household. While structural factors are indeed important, the authors in this volume also show that traditional norms, cultural beliefs, and gender roles are equally necessary to consider when planning HIV prevention programs. Gender disempowerment is of particular importance, as it is seen in all of these case studies. In order for the HIV epidemic to dissipate in sub-Saharan Africa, prevention programs that truly understand the local circumstances and strive for gender equality must be instituted immediately and broadly. The book is divided into three parts, each concentrating on a different aspect of women and HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. The first part provides case studies of the social, political, economic, cultural, and geographic dynamics that play into women's and girls' risk for the virus. The second part transitions into case studies of prevention, concentrating on condom use. The chapters in the final section expand on Part II by highlighting other ways of promoting HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention across the region. In short, the papers in this volume highlight the complicated decision making processes that women in countries of sub-Saharan Africa must make when it comes to HIV risk. In many cases, women find themselves in economically dependent relationships with men whereby they must stay in sexually risky situations to be able to feed themselves and, very often, their children.

Today young adults are contracting HIV more rapidly than virtually any period during the past two decades. Young women, particularly those who are black and Latina, are bearing the brunt of this 'new wave' of infection. Putting Risk in Perspective explores the many factors associated with HIV infection among young black women. HIV infection often occurs as a result of high risk behavior. Understanding what causes a young woman to take sexual and reproductive risks requires a consideration of the kinds of life issues she faces. Drawing on ethnographic study and interviews, RenZe T. White introduces to the reader many young women who are dealing with economic pressures, family relationships, dating and courtship, intimate relationship issues, and questions of sexual identity. These along with the mythology surrounding HIV and AIDS_and knowledge about contraception_influence whether or not a black teenager will engage in risky activity. This powerful book shows why the fight against AIDS must incorporate a commitment to improving the social and economic opportunities available to young black women.