African Americans, HIV and AIDA

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African Americans who live in low-income communities are more likely to engage in unprotected sexual activities than those who live in higher-income communities.

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Table of Contents

Chapter Page/s

I. The Problem 1-2

II. Theoretical Framework 3-5

III. Hypothesis 6

IV. Population and Design 7-8

V. Conclusion 9-10

VI. Bibliography 11-12

1

I. Problem

Little to nothing was known about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) when it first erupted in the 1970s. When the epidemic finally reached noticeable proportions in the early 1980s, a disease that knows no gender, racial, or class boundaries has created a devastating impact on society. This disease has afflicted society in virtually epidemic proportions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, there are an estimated 1 million Americans infected with AIDS and 40,000-80,000 new infections with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) each year.

There are few people who do not know someone who has died of AIDS, and it is estimated that, early in the new millennium, some forty million people worldwide will be infected with HIV, and ten million of them will develop AIDS. Research and statistics reveals that individual behavior is the strongest determinant of HIV and AIDS risk. This high-risk behavior place them in danger and is passed on to others by means of exchanging sex for money or drugs, injection drug users (IDUs), incarcerated persons, unborn babies of infected mothers, and other persons who have numerous sex partners.

Individuals in communities where Sexual Transmitted Diseases are prevalent are also at high risk rates of AIDS and HIV infection are substantially higher in blacks than among whites, especially among adolescents and young adults (Healthy People 2000). Many factors contribute to why there are more African Americans infected with HIV, AIDS, and STDs than any other racial and ethnic group.

2

The purpose of this explanatory study is to find out why African Americans who live in low-income / African American communities are more likely to en...

... middle of paper ...

...ervices (GAPS): Recommendations and Rationale. Chicago: American Medical Association, 1994

Anspaugh, D. J., Hamrick, M. H. & Rosato, F.D. 2000. Wellness Concepts and Applications (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Babbie, Earl R. 2001. The Practice of Social Research (9th ed.). United States: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report. Atlanta: Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, 1995; 7(1): 1-34.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trends in Sexual Risk Behavior among High School Students - United States, 1990,1991, and 1993. MMWR 1995; 44: 124 – 125.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. National Prevention Information Network.

Maryland: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv

Crosby, Richard A. Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Atlanta:

http://www.reutershealth.com/frame2/eline.html

National Center for Healthy Statistics. Healthy People 2000 review. 1994. Hyattsville, MD: Public Health Service, 1995. (Publication no. DHHS (PHS) 95 – 1256 – 1).

Research on Molecular Immunology of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. NIH GUIDE, Volume 21, Number 19, May 22, 1992.

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