HIV/AIDS Awareness

Be safe and responsible for Valentine’s Day

Shannon Armstead

RN, Baylor Medical Center

As many of us plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day with that special someone we can not forget that we must be safe.

For the past 3 decades over 100 million people in the United States have lost their lives to HIV and AIDS.  The Baton Rouge community has seen a rise in new HIV/AIDS cases in young adults ages 18-24. We must be aware that this disease is serious and is having detrimental affects within in the black community.

The assumption that this disease was once a gay man’s disease is only a myth to our generation. As we have seen people close to us and people not so close suffer and die with the disease.

Of all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, HIV and AIDS have hit African Americans the hardest. The reasons are not directly related to race or ethnicity, but rather to some of the barriers faced by many African Americans.

These barriers can include poverty, sexually transmitted diseases, and stigma (negative attitudes, beliefs, and actions) based on misconceptions of the disease.

When we look at HIV/AIDS by race and ethnicity, we see that African Americans have:

• More illness. Even though African Americans account for about 13% of the US population, they account for about half (49%) of the people who get HIV and AIDS.
• Shorter survival times. African Americans with AIDS often don’t live as long as people of other races and ethnic groups with AIDS. This is due to the barriers mentioned above.
• More deaths. For African Americans, HIV/AIDS is a leading cause of death.

No one thinks that they will get HIV or AIDS until it is too late. Don’t be a victim of mis-education.  

For more information visit www.aids.org