HIV in Hispanic Communities that Live in the United States

Figure 1. [Día mundial de la lucha contra el sida]

What is HIV?

HIV first appeared in the late 1800s in Central Africa when people came into contact with chimpanzee blood that had HIV (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021c). HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is a harmful disease that forms after a person has come into contact with the virus. HIV can cause a lot of damage inside the body because it attacks the body's immune system, which has cells people use to fight diseases (CDC, 2021c). As this is the case, if this disease is not treated, the virus can cause people to develop a severe form of HIV. This harmful HIV-related disease is called AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Right now, there is no cure for this disease. However, there are treatment options that can help HIV-positive people.

Facts to Know:

• Once you have HIV, you have it for life.

• HIV can be spread:

  • By having sex

  • By sharing drug-injection tools

  • From mother to baby during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding

• HIV cannot be spread:

  • If an HIV-Positive person shares saliva, tears, or sweat with an HIV-negative person

  • By hugging or shaking hands with an HIV-positive person

  • By sharing toilets, dishes, or other household items with an HIV-positive person

HIV and Hispanic Communities

Does HIV Impact this Community Differently?

Since the first case of HIV appeared in the United States, people have struggled to control the disease. This fact still holds true today because statistics show that Hispanics struggle at a different level with the disease compared to other people. Specifically, seeing as they currently make up roughly 29% of HIV infection cases (CDC, 2022a). Below, Figure 4 shows this information in how it shows the total HIV case rates for U.S. Hispanic people aged ≥13 years from 2015 to 2019. Showing how HIV rates have remained at the same level throughout the years, the data shows that a significant number of Hispanic people are negatively impacted by the preventable disease (CDC, 2021b). As this is the case, despite the progress made in HIV care, data shows that this issue impacts Hispanic groups differently as they face challenges in HIV prevention, treatment, awareness, and health results that other groups do not.

Right now, the continued presence of HIV stigma, homophobia, and poverty in Hispanic communities is stopping Hispanic people from learning about how they can stop HIV. As this is the case, current information shows that lifestyle changes are needed to decrease gaps in HIV cases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Specifically, seeing as they cause people to practice unsafe sex and have no trust in health services (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2021).

Having to overcome hard life events as they try to fit into American culture, adding in HIV-related concerns creates more trouble for Hispanic people. As such, people need to join together to help lower the negative results that come with HIV.

What Obstacles does this Community Face?

Overall, there are many obstacles that Hispanic communities may face when they try to learn about and understand HIV. Below are some of the obstacles that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021b) have found:

• Stigma

  • Current information shows that cultural views of "machismo," gender, and sex prevent Hispanic people from seeking information on HIV topics, such as male-to-male sexual contact.

  • People often feel shame and fear when they think about HIV, which makes them stop looking for HIV care, prevention, and treatment. It also stops them from looking for HIV testing centers or community support.

• Cultural Obstacles

  • Studies show that Hispanics born in foreign countries have different risk factors for HIV.

• Social and Economic Obstacles

  • Social and economic elements like poverty and little to no access to health care increase a person's risk of getting HIV.

  • Language differences, low education, and mistrust impact what kind of care a person gets and how likely they are to find information and care.

  • One's legal status and moving habits have also been found to stop Hispanic groups from looking for HIV treatment or information.

Statistics for HIV in Texan Hispanics/Latinos

While it is important to understand which people are more at risk of getting and spreading HIV, it is also necessary to identify and understand what areas within the United States have higher rates of HIV. This understanding is so that people and organizations can make sure that those areas get the help and resources they need to combat HIV. As this is the case, Figure 8 helps identify the presence of HIV for U.S. Hispanic/Latino people who were diagnosed with HIV by area of residence at the time of their HIV diagnosis between the years 2016 to 2020. With data that shows critical areas, people can use this information to show that areas such as southern states need more attention than other states. Below are some statistics that help show why states such as Texas are in need of more HIV support and awareness for their Hispanic residents.

Demographic Statistics

• The Texas Department of State Health Services (2018) says that "Hispanic people are impacted by HIV differently in Texas, seeing as one in seven Black males, and one in eleven Hispanic males in Texas were living with HIV in 2018".

• The AIDSVu Organization (2020), said that in "Texas, nearly 7 out of 10 HIV-positive people are Hispanic or black and that about half of the HIV-positive people living in Texas are over 45 years old."

Health Status

• The Office of Minority Health (2021) said that "Hispanic men are twice as likely as non-Hispanic white men to die from HIV in Texas."

• The AIDSVu Organization (2020) said that "the rate of Hispanic females living with an HIV diagnosis is 3.8 times that of white females" for people living in Texas.

HIV Trends

• The Texas Department of State Health Services (2019) said that Texas's "HIV diagnosis rate fell by 11% over the past ten years. However, the yearly number of Texans diagnosed with HIV did not change." As this is the case, the "fall in the HIV cases is due to the state's increase in population. Because the increase in Hispanic MSM populations continued to impact and makeup half of the people who got HIV" (Texas Department of State Health Services, 2019).

• The Texas Department of State Health Services (2019) said that patterns show that "the number of Black Texans with new HIV diagnoses fell by about 6% from 2009-2018, while the number for Hispanic Texans rose by 19%."

• Benavides-Torres and associates (2012) say that "over 9.4 million Hispanics live in Texas, and as such, they represent 37.6% of the population and 22% of AIDS diagnoses in Texas."

HIV Treatment

When should I start HIV treatment?

People who have HIV should begin treatment right away to stop the damage that the virus can cause to the human body (CDC, 2022a). No matter how healthy or old a person is, everyone who has been diagnosed with HIV should take an HIV treatment. As such, HIV-positive people should talk with their doctor to create the best treatment plan for them. If a person has been diagnosed with HIV but has repeatedly hesitated to get HIV treatment or practiced inconsistent actions, they may face negative results. Specifically, they will face damage to the body's immune system, a higher likelihood of HIV spreading, and an increased chance of getting AIDS. Due to these facts, it is important to start and continue HIV treatment plans.

Treatment Options

HIV treatment can be taken as a pill or injection. People who are just starting their HIV treatment will often be told to take one of the FDA-approved pill medications (CDC, 2022a). In comparison, people who have been virally suppressed for three months or who have a low viral load may be given the option to get HIV shots.

What are HIV Shots?

HIV shots are a form of long-acting HIV treatment which HIV-positive people can take if a doctor approves this treatment plan (CDC, 2022a). Based on current patient treatment plans, these shots may be given once a month or every other month.

Benefits of HIV Treatment

Once someone has HIV, the disease will continue to cause damage to their immune system until something is done to stop it. This fact means that if HIV-positive people do not get treated, HIV will cause significant damage to the point where AIDS is diagnosed. As this is the case, people should get treated for HIV because it will help lower a person's HIV viral load or the amount of the virus that is inside an infected person's blood (CDC, 2022a). HIV-positive people should also start and complete HIV treatments because their immune systems will be weak if they do not.

How do we get HIV information?

After seeing the harmful impacts of HIV, the United States has made HIV a notifiable condition or disease that must be reported to government authorities. So, healthcare workers must now report HIV-positive tests through disease reporting systems so that people can get information about HIV.

Local Level

Fast-Track Cities

After seeing the issues people were having with watching HIV information, city officials and four organizations joined together to create the Fast-Track Cities program. With a desire to increase HIV prevention and treatment and remove things that stop HIV management, Fast-Track Cities is now being used across the globe to get data. To learn more about the program, go to the Fast-Track Cities website link below.

Other recording practices include how each local area has created its own HIV/AIDS reporting policies and systems. An example of this can be seen in how doctors report a patient's HIV status if they are HIV positive. To learn more about these practices, people can search HIV reporting with their town's name to find out more about how HIV information is collected.

State Level

State Health Departments

As of right now, 50 states, the District of Columbia, and six other United States areas use HIV reporting systems to watch for changes in HIV on a state level (CDC, 2020). They specifically each use a consistent private name-based HIV infection reporting system. This type of HIV private reporting may be seen in states such as Texas. In this state, the Texas Department of State Health Services uses the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System Electronic Laboratory Reporting to watch for notifiable illnesses such as HIV (Texas Department of State Health Services, 2021). To find out more about these reporting systems, people can search HIV reporting and their state's name.

National Level

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Understanding HIV causes, rates, and patterns is complicated, especially because many factors prevent people from understanding the disease. To help with this issue, as of April 2008, all states within the United States have decided to use an HIV data collection system to help get HIV information to the CDC (CDC, 2020). Known as the CDC's National HIV Surveillance System, this website is a reliable source for looking at HIV information because state and local health departments help to provide information (CDC, 2020). To learn more about this system, go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

References

• AIDSVu. (2020, December 2). Local Data: Texas. https://aidsvu.org/local-data/united-states/south/texas/#demographics-2019

• Amaro, H., & Prado, G. (2021). Then and Now: Historical Landscape of HIV Prevention and Treatment Inequities Among Latinas. American Journal of Public Health, 111(7), 1246–1248. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2021.306336

• 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

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, October). HIV Prevention for Hispanic/ Latino Gay and Bisexual Men. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/policies/cdc-hiv-hispanic-latino-issue-brief.pdf

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, June 19). Surveillance Overview. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/surveillance/index.html#:%7E:text=All%2050%20states%2C%20the%20District,collecting%20data%20on%20HIV%20infection.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021a, April). HIV Infection, Risk, Prevention, and Testing Behaviors Among Transgender Women—National HIV Behavioral Surveillance, 7 U.S. Cities, 2019–2020 (No. 27). https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/library/reports/surveillance/cdc-hiv-surveillance-special-report-number-27.pdf

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021b, May). HIV Surveillance Report. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/library/reports/surveillance/cdc-hiv-surveillance-report-2018-updated-vol-32.pdf

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021c, June 1). About HIV/AIDS. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/whatishiv.html

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022a, March 8). HIV and Hispanic/Latino People. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/racialethnic/hispanic-latino/index.html

• Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (2022c, April 12). Detailed STD Facts - HIV/AIDS & STDs. https://www.cdc.gov/std/hiv/stdfact-std-hiv-detailed.htm

• 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

• Kaiser Family Foundation. (2021, June 7). The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the United States: The Basics. https://www.kff.org/hivaids/fact-sheet/the-hivaids-epidemic-in-the-united-states-the-basics/

• Office of Minority Health. (2021, August 7). HIV/AIDS and Hispanic Americans - The Office of Minority Health. United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=66

• Texas Department of State Health Services. (2018). An overview of HIV in Texas. https://www.dshs.texas.gov/hivstd/info/edmat/HIVAIDSinTexas.pdf

• Texas Department of State Health Services. (2019). Texas HIV Epidemiologic Profile. https://www.dshs.texas.gov/hivstd/reports/epi_profile/files/EpiProfile.pdf

• Texas Department of State Health Services. (2021, March 1). Electronic Laboratory Reporting. https://www.dshs.texas.gov/IDCU/investigation/ELR/Electronic-Laboratory-Reporting.doc

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022, January 7). Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. HIV.Gov. https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/hiv-prevention/using-hiv-medication-to-reduce-risk/pre-exposure-prophylaxis