Getting African Americans tested for HIV has been one of the biggest obstacles. And lack of testing is directly related to access to health care. While many African- American neighborhoods have numerous liquor stores in walking distance, health care facilities are not as easily accessible. Combine that with the fact that an overwhelming number of African Americans are either underinsured or lack health insurance altogether, and you have a group of people virtually locked out of the health care system. While many who have medical insurance are tested for AIDS during their annual checkup, which leads to an early diagnosis and treatment, those who lack insurance tend not to have yearly exams. And unless they visit community agencies or community fairs that offer testing, these individuals tend to go untreated.
AIDS advocates are hopeful that under the nation’s new health care reform, which will serve those who had previously gone without care due to lack of insurance, more African Americans will have yearly exams that include HIV testing. Those who are positive will know their status early, which will help prevent the spread of the disease.
Once testing positive for HIV, receiving treatment and adhering to that treatment is vital in stopping the spread of the disease. Those who take medication and adhere to a strict regimen have less of the virus in their bodies, thus are less likely to transmit the virus to others. Men have few alternatives when it comes to routine annual exams which could lead to HIV testing, unlike women, who can rely on places such as Planned Parenthood for quality, affordable health care geared towards their needs.
Along with access to health care, several other factors – including poverty, stigmas and the lack of knowledge and prevention education geared specifically towards African
Americans – work together to fuel the spread of the disease.
Numerous studies reveal that there is a strong connection between HIV and poverty. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 50 heterosexual adults living in poor neighborhoods are HIV positive – more than double that of the rest of the nation. With numerous studies indicating that people living in poverty are indeed more likely to contract the virus, it stands to reason that African Americans – the nation’s largest poverty-stricken ethnic group – would bear the brunt of the disease.
Poverty and lack of access to health care is only part of the problem. There are multiple stigmas in the African-American community associated with HIV. These stigmas prevent open discussions about the virus, discourage disclosure of positive status and deter African Americans from getting tested and accessing services.
According to the national Black AIDS Institute (BAI) – a Los Angeles-based AIDS organization whose goal is to stop the AIDS pandemic in the black community – African Americans tend to avoid testing for fear that if they test positive and others are made aware of their status, they will be shunned by their family and friends. This plays right into the hands of the virus. According to the CDC, people who are unaware that they have HIV are nearly four times more likely to transmit the virus to others than those who know their status. In other words, when people know that they have HIV, most take the steps necessary to protect others.
The CDC also reports that 33 percent of the African Americans testing positive are diagnosed late in their infection, which means that they have not been treated early in the disease. The late diagnosis leads to higher HIV death rates among black Americans.
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