HIV/AIDS
Minority Women's Health > American Indians/Alaska Natives > Health Topics > HIV/AIDS
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.
Today, women account for one out of every four new HIV cases in the U.S. HIV is a growing problem for American Indians/Alaska Natives. New cases of AIDS are higher for American Indians/Alaska Natives than for whites, but lower than they are for African Americans and Hispanic/Latinos. Among American Indians/Alaska Natives, almost one out of every three new HIV cases is a woman.
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.
Publications
Women and HIV/AIDS — This comprehensive section of womenshealth.gov provides women and their loved ones with resources and information they can use to get help with HIV/AIDS. It provides information on prevention, testing, living with the disease, opportunistic infections, medical care, HIV/AIDS and pregnancy, civil rights, financial help, research and clinical trials, and the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. http://www.womenshealth.gov/HIV/
American Indian Health — This web site is an information portal for and about the health of native peoples of the United States. The topics include cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and environmental health. http://americanindianhealth.nlm.nih.gov/
HIV/AIDS among American Indians and Alaska Natives — This fact sheet discusses HIV/AIDS among American Indians and Alaska Natives and how it is a growing problem in the their community. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/aian.htm
Native American AIDS Specific Links/Resources — This internet site provides a list of AIDS resources specific to the Native American population, such as national and local projects, educational organizations and health centers. http://www.ihs.gov/MedicalPrograms/AIDS/hiv-coe-native-american-aids-specific-resources.asp...
Key Indian Health Issues: STD/HIV (Copyright © NPAIHB) — This fact sheet provides statistics on the rates of HIV infection in the American Indian and Alaska Native community. It also provides suggestions on what to do to help prevent the spread of AIDS. http://www.npaihb.org/health_issues/hiv_std_aids/
Revised HIV/AIDS Statistics Support the Need for Increased Prevention Efforts in the Native Community — This fact sheet discusses new statistics for the number of Native Americans infected with HIV/AIDS. http://www.nnaapc.org/pdf/Press-Release/2008-statistics-response-PR.pdf
Organizations
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AIDS.gov
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS
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Indian Health Services
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National Prevention Information Network, CDC, HHS
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Office of Minority and Women's Health, CDC, HHS
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National Indian Women's Health Resource Center (NIWHRC)
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National Minority AIDS Council
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National Native American AIDS Prevention Center
= Indicates Federal Resources
Resources reviewed March 2008. |