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Volume 5, No. 5, May 2007
From Your Colleagues
Scott Giberson, HQE
Stop The Silence
That is the message that Indian Country will soon be seeing
For many of us, talking about sex is an uncomfortable topic. Because of this, we have remained silent. In turn, our children and grandchildren have grown up not knowing how to talk about these issues. The time has come. Our silence will not stop the devastating impact of sexually transmitted diseases. In response, the Red Talon STD/HIV Coalition has come together to increase community awareness about the impact that sexually transmitted diseases can have on our native communities.
The Campaign: To commemorate National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, celebrated on Wednesday, March 21, 2007, the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board and G&G Advertising will launch its HIV & Sexual Health campaign targeting the Northwest Tribes. The campaign includes:
- 2 Teen Posters (now available in print and on the web)
- 6 Teen STD/HIV Magazines, including three versions for younger teens, and three versions for older teens (coming soon!)
- 2 Adult Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for placement in Tribal papers (now available in print, press quality available on the web tomorrow)
- An Adult Tip-Sheet for talking to teens about sex and STDs (print quality version attached, press quality available on the web tomorrow)
- 2 T-Shirt designs (now available)
- A Website - Visit www.stopthesilence.org for more information about HIV, STDs, testing services, and ways to improve community awareness.
Once complete, all materials will be available for download at Project Red Talon: http://www.npaihb.org/epicenter/project/prt_reports_publications_media_materials/
Media Dissemination : Project Red Talon will distribute campaign products to our current Tribal Health contacts at each of the 43 NW Tribes. If you would like additional copies of any of the products (or are not on our contact list), please contact Lisa Griggs at lgriggs@npaihb.org or 503-228-4185 to determine product availability.
Some startling statistics : American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) are disproportionately impacted by high rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
- When compared by ethnicity,
AI/AN men and women had the third highest HIV/AIDS rate in 2004. In 2004, the
rate of HIV/AIDS diagnosis for American Indian and Alaska Natives men was 20.8
per 100,000, and was 7.7 per 100,000 among AI/AN women.
- Among American Indian and Alaska Native males, the HIV/AIDS case rate increased 2.4% from 2001 to 2004, the most significant increase observed among any reported racial/ethnic group. Among American Indian and Alaska Native females, the HIV/AIDS case rate increased 4.8% from 2001 to 2004, an increase that was second only behind Asians/Pacific Islanders (A/PIs).
- In 2004, American Indians were nearly five times more likely than whites to have chlamydia, four times more likely to have gonorrhea, and twice as likely to have syphilis. These infections compromise not only individual well being, but the well being of the community as a whole, and direct medical costs associated with STDs can cause a substantial economic burden to Tribal healthcare budgets.
- Each year, 1 in 4 sexually active teens will get an STD, and 1 in 5 sexually active teen females will get pregnant. Two U.S. teens are infected with HIV every hour of every day
STDs interacts with reproductive health on a variety of levels:
- High rates of sexually transmitted
diseases not only signify high-risk behavior, but also indicate a vulnerability
to the transmission of HIV. People infected with an STD are 2 to 5 times more
likely to become infected with HIV.
- Untreated STDs can cause severe health consequences for women, including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancy, and infertility. Up to 40% of females with untreated chlamydia infections develop PID, and 20% of those may become infertile.
These are the kinds of statistics that Indian Country should not be apart of. We must stand up and have a voice -- Stop the Silence!
HIV/AIDS Among American Indians and Alaska Natives: CDC Fact Sheets available
The CDC has updated its annual Fact Sheet on HIV/AIDS Among American Indians and Alaska Natives. The new data was posted in March 2007 and contains information from the most recent 2005 CDC reports.
It will be posted on the IHS HIV/AIDS website, www.ihs.gov/medicalprograms/hivaids/
At CDC, the data can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/aian.htm
Opportunity to obtain technical and capacity building assistance
Detailed below is an opportunity to obtain technical and capacity building assistance (as well as training) on HIV/AIDS primary medical care and treatment delivery. It is available to IHS sites, Urban programs and tribally run clinics. Please read the excerpt below and the attached brochure and review any possibilities to apply for these resources. If you choose to apply for this, consider a brief email to this office so we are aware of the activity, resources and outcomes. This will continue to strengthen our networks, identify those in the field expanding services and potentially serve as a model of care that can be highlighted amongst our peers. Thanks to our HRSA colleagues, the SNHC Project and Brenda Woods-Francis (HRSA / AETCs) for this information.
Applications for technical and capacity building assistance are being sought by the Supporting Networks of HIV Care (SNHC) by Enhancing Primary Medical Care (EPMC) Project, a federally funded project that seeks to develop, improve, and expand the capacity of comprehensive HIV primary medical care and treatment service delivery in racial/ethnic minority communities impacted by HIV/AIDS. This national technical assistance and capacity building project is designed to provide technical assistance (TA), intensive capacity building, training, and regional meetings to primary medical care organizations to improve their ability to provide quality HIV care. Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)’s HIV/AIDS Bureau, the project is led by the CAEAR Foundation in partnership with the Academy for Educational Development, and the National Minority AIDS Council. TA assistance is available to small/moderately sized non-profit primary medical care sites including Indian Health Service Facilities, Urban Indian Programs, and tribal run health facilities. Applications for the Intensive Capacity Building services component are due April 9, 2007. Other services have other or rolling application deadlines. Please visitwww.hivta.org for additional information on eligibility, applications, and application timetables for all TA services and training.
Fluoroquinolones No Longer Recommended for Treatment of Gonococcal Infections
MMWR release April 13, 2007
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5614a3.htm
or
Update to CDC's Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines, 2006
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5511a1.htm
Amy Groom, Albuquerque
New HPV Brochures for Clinicians, CDC
CDC recently updated their HPV brochure for clinicians and posted four sets of counseling messages to assist providers in their HPV-related discussions with patients. The counseling messages address (1) information for parents about the HPV vaccine, (2) information for women about the Pap and HPV tests, (3) information for women who receive a positive HPV test result, and (4) information for patients receiving a genital warts diagnosis.
These materials are now available online as separate PDF files at the link below. They are also being printed as a package (brochure with counseling insert cards) for free online ordering. We will let you know as soon as they are available in print.
In the meantime, they hope you find these resources useful and ask that you please share them with other providers in the field.
As always, they welcome your feedback and thank you for your continued efforts in HPV education and the prevention of HPV-associated diseases.
www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/hpv-clinicians-brochure.htm
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OB/GYN
Dr. Neil Murphy is the Obstetrics and Gynecology Chief Clinical Consultant (OB/GYN C.C.C.). Dr. Murphy is very interested in establishing a dialogue and/or networking with anyone involved in women's health or maternal child health, especially as it applies to Native or indigenous peoples around the world. Please don't hesitate to contact him by e-mail or phone at 907-729-3154.
