Minority Women's Health

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HIV/AIDS

Minority Women's Health > Hispanic Americans/Latinas > Health Topics > HIV/AIDS

• Resources in English
• Recursos en español

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV weakens your immune system, which makes it hard for your body to fight off other health problems that it could normally resist. As time goes on, your body becomes less able to fight off diseases.

Among all Hispanics/Latinos, Hispanics/Latinas account for one out of every five new cases of HIV. Hispanic/Latina women are about five times more likely to get HIV than white women. Most of these women got HIV from having sex with a man. Cultural factors may play a part in the high rates of HIV among Hispanics/Latinas. It may be hard to talk about sex and even harder to convince a partner to use a condom.

Take these steps to protect yourself:

• Use latex condoms every time you have any kind of sex (vaginal, oral, or anal).
• If you use drugs and cannot or will not stop injecting drugs, use new, sterile syringes to prepare and inject drugs.
• If you're getting a tattoo or having your body pierced, ask what procedures they use to prevent the spread of HIV. If they do not use new, sterilized, or disinfected equipment, go somewhere else.

Resources in English

Publications

1.   Women and HIV/AIDS - Womenshealth.gov created the Women and HIV/AIDS web page to provide women and their loved ones with resources and information they can use to get help. This web page contains links to HIV/AIDS publications about prevention, testing, living with the disease, opportunistic infections, care, HIV/AIDS and pregnancy, legislation and rights, financial assistance, research and clinical trials, personal stories, and AIDS worldwide.

   http://www.womenshealth.gov/HIV/

2.   HIV Infection In Women - AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death for women aged 25 to 44 in the United States. This fact sheet addresses the special concerns that women with HIV face.

   http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/womenhiv.htm

3.   HIV/AIDS Among Hispanics - This publication contains statistical facts about HIV/AIDS prevalence among Hispanics in the United States. Also included are historical trends and information about building better prevention programs.

   http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/hispanics/resources/factsheets/hispanic.htm

4. American Red Cross: HIV/AIDS Education (Copyright © The American National Red Cross) - The Red Cross, working in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, educates people on how to stop the transmission of HIV, encourages people to respond in informed ways to people who have HIV, and helps people apply the facts about HIV to their own behavior. These goals are accomplished through educational programs.

   http://www.redcross.org/services/hss/hivaids

5. Redefining HIV/AIDS for Latinos: A Promising New Paradigm for Addressing HIV/AIDS in the Hispanic Community (Copyright © NCLR) - This book was put together from findings from the NCLR Latino families HIV/AIDS Needs Assessment research presented during the Latinas and HIV/AIDS 2005 Summit. This publication was made to outline a proposed new strategy designed to reduce the incidence and improve treatment of HIV/AIDS in the Latino community.

   http://www.nclr.org/content/publications/detail/42686/

Organizations

1.   AIDS.Gov
2.   CDC National Prevention Information Network
3.   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS
4.   Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, NCHSTP, CDC, OPHS, HHS
5.   Office of Minority Health, OPHS, OS, HHS
6. Center for a Healthy Maryland
7. National Alliance for Hispanic Health
8. National Council of La Raza
9. National Minority AIDS Council

= Indicates Federal Resources

Recursos en español

Publicaciones

1.   Mujeres y el VIH/SIDA - Si usted tiene el VIH, vive con alguien que sufre de esta enfermedad, cuida a un amigo, hijo u otro miembro de su familia infectado con el VIH entonces necesitará información fiable que le ayudara a cada paso. Esta sección le proveerá la información que usted busca.

   http://www.womenshealth.gov/espanol/vih/

2.     Consulta con el medico del VIH - Estas hojas tienen información sobre el tipo de médico que es recomendable para tratar el virus del VIH. También incluye sugerencias de preguntas que puede hacerle al médico sobre su tratamiento.

   http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/ContentFiles/ConsultaConElMedicoDelVIH_FS_sp.pdf

3.   Recursos nacionales para la prueba del VIH - Este sitio contiene información sobre el VIH/SIDA. También, incluye una lista de recurso acerca de la prueba del VIH.

   http://www.hivtest.org/index_sp.cfm

4.   El VIH/SIDA Hoy - Esta hoja informativa contiene estadísticas sobre quién está infectado por el VIH/SIDA.

   http://www.cdcnpin.org/scripts/espanol/vih/vih.asp

5.   Datos sobre el VIH y el SIDA. Cualquiera puede contraer SIDA. Aprenda como cuidarse (Copyright © NY State Dept) - Este libro tiene datos sobre el SIDA. Contesta muchas de las preguntas sobre tratamientos que pueden ayudar a las personas con VIH a mantenerse saludables durante un tiempo prolongado.

   http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/aids/docs/hivfactsspanish.pdf

6. ¿Qué necesitan los latinos en EE.UU. para la prevención del VIH? (Copyright © UCA) - En EE.UU., los latinos (incluyendo los habitantes de Puerto Rico) se ven desproporcionadamente afectados por el VIH, ya que representan el 18% de todos los casos de SIDA aún cuando sólo son el 14% de la población. Esta hoja de datos resume las posibles causas de esta desmedida y qué está haciendo para reducir la taza de infección en la gente latina.

   http://www.caps.ucsf.edu/espanol/hojas/splatinorev.php

Organizaciones

1.   Centro de Información de la Oficina de Salud de las Minorías
2.   Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades, HHS

= Recurso Federal

Current as of December 2007