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Date: Thursday, November 30, 1995
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: CDC Press Office (404) 639-3286

HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala cited data that identify both the increase in HIV related deaths among young adults and the ongoing risk of new HIV infections. In 1993, AIDS became the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 25 and 44. From 1993 to 1994, AIDS deaths among 25- to 44-year-olds increased from 37,000 to 42,000. In this age group, AIDS caused, on average, one in every three deaths among young African American men and one in five deaths among young African American women. With the long and variable lag time between HIV infection and death, many of the young adults in this group were likely infected in their late teens.

"While our AIDS prevention efforts have succeeded in stabilizing or even reducing the rate of infection among older Americans, they are not having the same kind of effect among young adults," Secretary Shalala said. "These public service announcements are specifically designed to reach adults between the ages of 18 and 25 with a message of abstinence, prevention and responsibility."

She also cited a new study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) showing that AIDS cases have increased much more rapidly among younger individuals, born in 1960 or later, than among older Americans. The study, authored by NIH statistician Philip S. Rosenberg, Ph.D., was published in the November 24, 1995, edition of Science.

"What we have is a generation in jeopardy," Shalala said. "And it is up to us to take action now to reverse these troubling trends before we wipe out a new generation of leadership for this country."

As each generation comes of age, there is a substantial increase in the rate of infections as individuals enter their late teens and early 20s, with infection rates peaking in the mid to late 20s. As part of the government's commitment to changing this pattern, Secretary Shalala unveiled a new series of PSAs entitled "Respect Yourself, Protect Yourself."

The new PSAs, produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), show young adults talking candidly about their lives and demonstrating protective behaviors and skills, including abstaining from sex, communicating with sexual partners and parents about AIDS, and using condoms consistently and correctly.

"One of the key things we have learned is that the messenger is oftentimes as important as the message," said CDC Director David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D. "It is essential for young adults to see and hear their peers talking about how they protect themselves from HIV."

In addition to delivering the messages, young adults were also involved at every development stage of the "Respect Yourself, Protect Yourself" PSAs. Young adults who are HIV educators and service providers, as well as members of the target audience, worked closely with CDC and its partners to create the PSAs.

"These messages are by, for, and about young adults, so it was important for them to play an integral role in their development," said Helene D. Gayle, M.D., M.P.H., Director of CDC's National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention. "Young adults are willing to share the responsibility for HIV prevention, they understand what their peers are thinking and doing, and they are vital to our efforts to fight this disease."

"We are very proud of this effort and the contribution we have made to it," said Veronica Ayala, of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, one of the young adults who assisted CDC in developing the messages. "The PSAs are about our generation taking responsibility for protecting ourselves and our peers from HIV. We're the first generation raised with this epidemic. It's up to us to end it."

Patricia S. Fleming, Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy, said "These PSAs come at a particularly important time. As most of you know, tomorrow is World AIDS Day and the theme is 'shared rights and shared responsibilities.'

"Young adults have the right to lives free of HIV. We and they share the responsibility to ensure that happens. The 'Respect Yourself, Protect Yourself' PSAs are part of a broader effort to reduce HIV infection in the United States. The data cited today demonstrate more clearly than ever before that we cannot become complacent about AIDS," Fleming said. "We must continue to give young adults and the communities in which they live the tools they need to protect themselves."

The new PSAs are part of CDC's ongoing Prevention Marketing Initiative (PMI), which has both national media and grassroots components. The 12 television and seven radio PSAs were developed to present a balanced approach to HIV prevention. Like other CDC prevention efforts, PMI works with state and community public- and private-sector organizations to increase the reach and effectiveness of their HIV prevention activities.