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The spread of HIV/AIDS in minorities

Bria Zettlemoyer

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

ENGL-1301: Composition I

Dr. Frances Johnson

19 November 2021
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The spread of HIV/AIDS in minorities

Since being identified in the 1980s, HIV has contributed to the deaths of over 36 million

people and currently infects more than 1.2 million people in the United States alone (Joe, 2018).

HIV/AIDS has affected people of all races, but many studies have shown that the disease has had

a significantly disproportionate impact on minorities (Needle et al., 2003). Earlier review articles

have discussed how HIV spreads throughout minorities, however, a more current synthesis is

needed. The purpose of the following literature review is to report on the current conversation

among scholars on the topic of HIV/AIDS spread among racial minorities.

HIV/AIDS in minorities

For many years, HIV/AIDS has long disproportionally affected Hispanics and African

Americans in the U.S., with rates of infection three and nine times higher than of Caucasians

(Benavides-Torres et al., 2012). Although the rate of infection has decreased in the U.S.,

minority rates have continued to increase (Joe, 2018). HIV/AIDS will continue to spread

throughout minority communities due to the health disparities, barriers to testing, and lack of

knowledge.

Health Disparities

African Americans and Latinos make up the majority of new HIV infections in the U.S.

(Kalichman et al., 2016). The death rate for African Americans living with HIV is 13% higher

than in Caucasians while racial and ethnic minorities have a greater chance of AIDS-related

morbidity (Kalichman et al., 2016). These are only two of the many health disparities when it

comes to HIV/AIDS. Until about 1985, there were little to no disparities as HIV was

characterized to be a disease for homosexual white men, but over time the disparities have grown

to be more and more extreme (Ford, 2017). It was not until 1996 when antiretroviral therapies, a
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drug that stops HIV from replicating in the body, became available that the size of the disparities

began to expand greatly (Ford, 2017).

After the antiretroviral therapies were made available, the disparities were expected to

decrease, but instead seemed to amplify them (Ford, 2017). This may be due to discrimination

which can lead to healthcare disengagement and account for racial disparities in HIV treatment

and health outcomes (Kalichman et al., 2016). The high rates of AIDS in African Americans

suggests that racial differences in access to healthcare contributes to the racial disparities in

AIDS (Ford, 2017).

Barriers to HIV testing

With over a million HIV cases in the U.S., it is reported that one in seven people are

unaware that they are HIV positive (Wise et al., 2019). Undiagnosed HIV infections are more

common among Latinos and African Americans as they are known to be tested late in the course

of the disease (Benavides-Torres et al., 2012). As African Americans account for the majority of

new infections, there are several barriers to HIV testing (Mathews et al., 2020). With HIV-

related stigma, reduced access to healthcare, and low HIV knowledge, it is difficult to reach

African Americans for testing (Mathews et al., 2020). In an effort to find testing alternatives,

HIV self-testing kits were suggested and have become the preferred way to be tested (Mathews

et al., 2020). These at-home kits will contribute greatly to removing the barriers of testing and

reducing the number of undiagnosed cases.

Due to their poverty, lack of healthcare access, and limited availability of culturally

responsive services, Latinos have one of the lowest HIV testing rates (Rios-Ellis et al., 2015).

Compared to the general public, Latinos are less aware of being HIV positive, and more than half

have never been tested (Guilamo-Ramos et al., 2020). Similar to African Americans, HIV/AIDS
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stigma is a major barrier to testing among Latinos (Rios-Ellis et al., 2015). Programs that

normalize HIV prevention and treatment have been shown to make Latinos feel more

comfortable engaging in HIV services (Guilamo-Ramos et al., 2020). These assist in reducing

HIV stigma and increase willingness among Latinos to seek testing (Rios-Ellis et al., 2015).

Implementation of HIV/AIDS prevention programs

While the HIV/AIDS epidemic has continued to spread throughout the U.S., educational

prevention programs are beginning to be put in place to assist in slowing the spread, specifically

with young minorities (Lardier et al., 2017). Due to the lack of sexual health education and poor-

quality healthcare, minority youth in economically deprived communities are more vulnerable to

new infections (Lardier et al., 2021). As attention grows on the demand to address the needs of

HIV minority populations, groundbreaking efforts to develop multilevel, culture-based

prevention programs have been launched (Trejos-Castillo, 2019). Studies have shown that

implementing these programs and increasing the knowledge and awareness of the spread of HIV

has lowered the risk of being exposed and transmitting the virus (Lardier et al., 2021).

As most communities utilize collaborative partnerships the build and apply HIV

educational programs, there are difficulties that come with these partnerships. Although much

work is put into the programs, the challenge is implementing sustainable interventions once these

partnerships come to an end (Abara et al., 2015). It is crucial to keep these programs running to

promote and address health and health disparities in HIV/AIDS (Abara et al., 2015). A way to

ensure that the programs continue running is by establishing HIV education programs within

churches, specifically African American churches. With most African American churches being

located in communities with high HIV and AIDS occurrence while having the influence they

have, they are well-suited for outreach programs (Stewart et al., 2016). Applying these programs
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to the churches has spread awareness of HIV testing and safe sex throughout African American

communities (Abara et al., 2015).

Conclusion

In conclusion, racial and ethnic minorities are more vulnerable to new HIV/AIDS

infections, and it will take community involvement to decrease the rate of infection. Increasing

knowledge and awareness within these communities will assist in slowing the spread. Further

studies should research more into the increase of health disparities.

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References

Abara, W., Coleman, J. D., Fairchild, A., Gaddist, B., & White, J. (2015). faith-based community

partnership to address HIV/AIDS in the Southern United States: Implementation,

challenges, and lessons learned. Journal of Religion and Health, 54(1), 122-133.

Benavides-Torres, R. A., Wall, K. M., Núñez Rocha, G. M., Onofre Rodríguez, D. J., & Hopson,

L. (2012). Factors associated with lifetime HIV testing in Texas by race/ethnicity. The

Open AIDS Journal, 6(1), 232-238. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874613601206010232

Ford, C. L. (2017). Notions of blackness in the context of HIV/AIDS disparities and

research. The Black Scholar, 47(4), 18-31.

https://doi.org/10.1080/00064246.2017.1368064

Guilamo-Ramos, V., Thimm-Kaiser, M., Benzekri, A., Chacón, G., López, O. R.,

Scaccabarrozzi, L., & Rios, E. (2020). The invisible US Hispanic/Latino HIV crisis:

Addressing gaps in the national response. American Journal of Public Health, 110(1), 27-

31. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305309

Joe, J. R. (2018). Counseling to end an epidemic: Revisiting the ethics of HIV/AIDS. Journal of

Counseling & Development, 96(2), 197-205. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12192

Kalichman, S. C., Eaton, L., Kalichman, M. O., Grebler, T., Merely, C., & Welles, B. (2016).

Race-based medical mistrust, medication beliefs and HIV treatment adherence: Test of a

mediation model in people living with HIV/AIDS. Journal of Behavioral

Medicine, 39(6), 1056-1064. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-016-9767-1

Lardier, D. T., Opara, I., Reid, R. J., Garcia-Reid, P., Herrera, A., & Cantu, I. (2021). Increasing

HIV/AIDS knowledge among urban ethnic minority youth: Findings from a community-
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based prevention intervention program. Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services, 20(1),

76-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/15381501.2021.1910097

Mathews, A., Farley, S., Conserve, D. F., Knight, K., Le'marus, A., Blumberg, M., Rennie, S., &

Tucker, J. (2020). "Meet people where they are": A qualitative study of community

barriers and facilitators to HIV testing and HIV self-testing among African Americans in

urban and rural areas in North Carolina. BMC Public Health, 20(1).

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08582-z

Needle, R. H., Trotter, R. T., Singer, M., Bates, C., Page, J. B., Metzger, D., & Marcelin, L. H.

(2003). Rapid assessment of the HIV/AIDS crisis in racial and ethnic minority

communities: An approach for timely community interventions. American Journal of

Public Health, 93(6), 970-979. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.93.6.970

Rios-Ellis, B., Becker, D., Espinoza, L., Nguyen-Rodriguez, S., Diaz, G., Carricchi, A., Galvez,

G., & Garcia, M. (2015). Evaluation of a community health worker intervention to reduce

HIV/AIDS stigma and increase HIV testing among underserved Latinos in the

Southwestern U.S. Public Health Reports (1974-), 130(5), 458-467.

Stewart, J. M., Hanlon, A., & Brawner, B. M. (2016). Predictors of HIV/AIDS programming in

African American churches: Implications for HIV prevention, testing, and care. Health

Education & Behavior, 44(3), 385-393. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198116663695

Trejos-Castillo, E. (2019). Technology platforms and family engagement for HIV/AIDS

prevention: Addressing the needs of minority rural youth. Journal of Adolescent

Health, 65(2), 171-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.jadohealth.2019.04.017

Wise, J. M., Ott, C., Azuero, A., Robin Gaines Lanzi, Davies, S., Gardner, A., Vance, D. E., &

Kempf, M.-C. (2019). Barriers to HIV testing: Patient and provider perspectives in the
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deep South. AIDS and Behavior, 23(4),1062-1072. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10461-018-

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