The Relationship Between HIV And Latinos

HIV or the Human Deficiency virus is like other viruses including the flu, but the one thing that makes this virus so different than any other is that the body is unable to clear this one out completely. Once someone is infected, there is no cure. Over time, HIV can also hide or mask itself in the body's cells. The cells within a person's body that fight off infection are called CD4 cells or T cells. HIV attacks these cells and copies or replicates itself inside these cells, then destroys them. HIV over time will destroy so many of these cells that the body is unable to fight off infection anymore. When this starts happening, AIDS or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome happens which is the final stage

The term Human Immunodeficiency Virus is commonly known as (HIV), which is a virus that attacks the immune system of humans by destroying the amount of CD4 cells in their bodies. Without CD4 the human body is unable to fight against diseases, which can lead to Acquired Immune deficiency syndrome known as AIDS for short. The first case of the HIV/AIDS virus in the U.S. occurred in the early 1980’s. The first spark of the virus was found in San Francisco with couple of homosexual Caucasian American males. Today African Americans account for the largest proportion of HIV and AIDS in this country, represent approximately 13% of the U.S. population, but accounted for an estimated 44% of new HIV infections in 2010(the last year a study was

Outcome: Contraceptive use among Hispanic teens is relatively low and almost one-half of sexually active teens do not use a condom, putting them at risk for sexually transmitted infections in addition to pregnancy. (Child Trends,

I interviewed Dr. Kwa Sey who is an epidemiologist with the Los Angeles County department of Public Health and the Director of the International Health Program at Charles R. Drew University (CDREWU). Dr. Sey earned his M.A. in epidemiology and a PhD in Public Health from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) school of Public Health. He has over 16 years of experience working in Public Health. He currently directs CDREWU funded HIV Behavioral Surveillance in Los Angeles and DHAPP funded HIV prevention programs internationally.

Financial barriers to access health care are common in a low-income family when they are uninsured or underinsured. Many uninsured and undocumented immigrant received federal and state health care coverage. Latinos and African American are the ethnicities that are disproportionally get affected. Limited access to a doctor when they are sick, taking non-prescribed medication and holding off recommended treatment is only some of the problems they encountered (Carrillo et al., 2011).

A study of immigrant Latino residents in a rural North Carolina county that looked at how seriously IPV was seen by the community, their opinions about the causes of IPV as well as their awareness of available community resources to victims or those seeking to prevent IPV (Moracco, Hilton, Hodges & Frasier, 2005). IPV is not generally seen to be a particularly serious problem amongst members of the Hispanic/Latino community; women are significantly more likely than men to think of

Many Latino focus group participants went without needed care because they were uninsured and could not afford the out‐of‐pocket costs ("Community Health Needs Assessment," 2012).

HIV/AIDS is a disease with social, psychological and physiological consequences for those impacted by the illness. The impact of HIV and AIDS among African American women has been devastating. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC, 2010) reports that black women represent 29% of the estimated new HIV infections among all adult and adolescent African Americans and HIV/AIDS is the third leading cause of death for black women ages 25?44. Several

Latinos face many barriers that will also affect their process in seeking services. One of the barriers they face is due to their financial issues and transportation (Bauer et al. 2000; Bell and Naugle 2005; Fugate et al. 2005; Lewis et al. 2005; Strube 1988 as cited in Mookerjee; Fernandez, & Chin,

Hispanics are one of the largest groups in the United States that are uninsured. Additionally, the Hispanic population is one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the U.S. The Hispanic population is estimated to increase over the next 25 years to 32 million out of a total of 72 million of the US population (Brice, 2000). The U.S. health care system is facing one of its most notable societal issues in years in reference to its ability to provide access to medical care for the millions of Americans who do not have health care, for whatever cause. The Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010, for the purpose of reducing inequalities in insurance coverage and to provide access to health care for all. A vital goal of the

All these inequalities amongst the Latino population have increased the cost of health care. By becoming competent in the needs and how we can start making changes to such disparities in the population we as providers can help lower the cost. Some of the recommendations are as follow:

Many people are unaware of their health status further increasing transmission of disease in young adult African American(AA) women age 18-24. Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIV) infects and also destroy blood cells (i.e. lymphocytes) that the body need to fight off infection (Mays 2011). African American women HIV positive, age 18-24 the magnitude of issue of the health disparity in this particular population will be addressed along with the many factors of social and health determinants. The health concern is towards the increase of transmission among young AA mothers and their children who are the health outcomes in many ways than one. The many social and health determinants that affect the women today are on going cycles that have yet to be broken. African American women make 64% of new infection cases for HIV. African american obtain a vulnerability unlike other minorities. The health population’s culture and stigma has played an important role in the community. The concern for AA women is the increase of new cases and most importantly the spread of the disease to these women’s children. The mortality rate of AA women with HIV is 47.1% as of 2012. (Siddiqi 2015)

3. Corona, R., Gonzalez, T., Cohen, et al. “Richmond Latino Needs Assessment: A Community-University Partnership to Identify Health Concerns and Service Needs for Latino Youth”. J Community Health. 34.(2009): 195-201.

According to recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 1.2 million individuals in the United States have HIV (about 14 percent of which are unaware of their infection and another 1.1 million have progressed to AIDS. Over the past decade, the number of HIV cases in the US has increased, however, the annual number of cases remains stable at about 50, 000 new cases per year. Within these estimates, certain groups tend to carry the burden of these disease, particularly the gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men (MSM) and among race/ethnic groups, Blacks/African American males remain disproportionately affected. (CDC)

The United States is a melting pot of ethnicity, in which, the healthcare system and its benefits vary widely. Those who are able to obtain primary care insurance via a full time employer, typically have the benefits of full coverage care. However, for many minority groups, full time work alone is hard to acquire, along with the health benefits full time employment provides. Culturally competent care among the diverse populations helps increase health promotion and gain a cultural perspective. One of these mentioned groups is the Hispanic population which is steadily increasing within the United States.