HIV-AIDS

A Proud Heritage of HIV/AIDS Research and Services

Some of the Hispanic Health Council’s earliest and most important research continues to inform the development of HIV and AIDS prevention strategies in low-income Latino and African-American communities.

The Hispanic Health Council’s first foray into HIV/AIDS prevention efforts was in 1983, when a community health educator, responding to growing news coverage about the new epidemic, initiated a series of radio interviews and community forums to educate Hartford’s low-income, largely Puerto Rican community about AIDS. At the time, these educational efforts focused on the gay community.

The second phase of the council’s work began in 1986, when a field research project on STD attitudes, correlates and behaviors in an inner-city medical center illuminated a startling increase in AIDS cases among Latinos and blacks in New York City, especially among IV drug users. Aware of the close and frequent contact between Puerto Rican and other IV drug users in Hartford, CT and New York City, researchers at the Hispanic Health Council recognized that AIDS would soon become a huge threat to the health of Hartford’s minority communities, if it hadn’t already. (Singer et al. 1990)

This led to a survey of AIDS knowledge, attitudes and risk behaviors in a multi-ethnic neighborhood in Hartford, CT. The study revealed that Latinos held the greatest number of misconceptions about AIDS and were the least informed about routes of transmission, availability of a cure, availability of treatment, the difference between HIV infection and AIDS and safer sex practices.

This and subsequent research projects culminated in a multi-program, multi-agency collaboration called the Hispanic Package on AIDS Prevention, Education and Outreach in Hartford and the Northeast. The package consisted of eight separate AIDS projects designed by the HHC to achieve a major impact on AIDS awareness and risk reduction in Hartford’s Latino community. The council received funding from various sources and AIDS-related intervention and research became a significant part of the Hispanic Health Council’s budget. One major outcome of the package was called Project COPE, which tested the impact of culturally specific prevention efforts in HIV/AIDS prevention. The research provided early empirical evidence that suggested the critical importance of implementing culturally specific prevention efforts. (Singer, et al 1992)

Later, having identified intravenous drug use as a primary means of HIV/AIDS transmission in Hartford’s Latino community, the Hispanic Health Council became involved in work on syringe exchange and played a role in getting state approval for the Hartford Syringe Exchange Program, organizing the resulting needle exchange and later evaluating the program (Singer 2001).

The Hispanic Health Council also has been at the forefront of developing culturally and gender appropriate programs for women. Between January 1980 and December 1991, women comprised 20 percent of the total AIDS cases in Connecticut, twice the national average. (Connecticut Department of Public Health) Thirty five percent of women were reportedly infected through heterosexual transmission, most by an injection-drug using partner. Hispanic Health Council researchers identified a myriad of obstacles to minority women’s ability to negotiate condom use, including race, class and gender inequities, and power issues for women in relation to men, their communities and the general society. For Puerto Ricans, the greatest obstacles to negotiating safer sex, including condom use, were found to be the social expectations that women will respect their men by playing a submissive role in the relationship, especially in sexual activities. Many of these issues persist today.

ProjectConnect Serves At-risk Women and their Partners

The Hispanic Health Council offers HIV prevention services through a program called ProjectConnect. This program is for women 18 and older who have history of substance abuse and are HIV-positive or at risk of HIV/AIDS. Outreach, case management, transportation, referrals, advocacy and support group sessions are provided by staff members of the Hispanic Health Council. Treatment, medical referrals, and health education are offered through our partner, Community Health Services (CHS), a federally qualified health center located at 500 Albany Ave. Although the program was originally designed to serve women, it has become increasingly clear that it is impossible to prevent HIV/AIDS in women without addressing the needs of the men with whom they have relationships. Recently, the Hispanic Health Council began to offer services to the partners of  ProjectConnect participants. In addition, ProjectConnect outreach workers regularly distribute condoms, lubricants, educational and risk reduction materials to program participants and in the community. They also place condoms in the bathrooms of several area bars in the heavily Latino South End area of Hartford, CT.  ProjectConnect is funded through the U.S. Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Hitting the Streets to Promote Treatment

For the past year, the Hispanic Health Council has worked in partnership with CHS to re-connect HIV-positive community members with the treatment they need. To do this, a part-time outreach worker patrols Hartford’s streets often in the pre-dawn hours, searching for people who are HIV positive, but have dropped out of treatment. Referrals are made to CHS where treatment can resume.

Links:

HIV/AIDS Among Hispanics/Latinos: CDC HIV/AIDS Facts August 2009 

National HIV Testing Mobilization Campaign: Hispanics and HIV/AIDS