Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
AIDS in the Caribbean
(Hagley Gap Community in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica)As all of you know, we have been going crazy looking for statistics and demographics for people in South Florida who are living with HIV/AIDS. Why does the United States have information that is years old (I think the most recent information we've come across is 2005) and countries with considerly fewer resources are able to scrounge up money for AIDS statistics?
Granted these are smaller countries which might make it easier to gather information but I still think the U.S. should be doing more than we are with all of the resources we have. In my opinion, us not having up-to-date statisitcs is effectively ignoring the problem and just another way that the U.S. puts HIV/AIDS on the backburner.
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080313/carib/carib3.html
Still grim news for Carib regarding HIV/AIDS
published: Thursday March 13, 2008
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):
Caribbean health officials on Tuesday said that at least 31 people are dying daily in the Caribbean from the deadly HIV/AIDS virus.
UNAIDS Director Karen Sealey, speaking at the launch of an HIV Epidemic and Response Synthesis in the Caribbean, said that the statistics also show that 47 persons had become infected with the virus on a daily basis last year.
UNAIDS said it welcomed the initiative and is providing technical support.
"Despite the progress accomplished in recent years in the struggle against HIV, serious challenges remain," said Sealey, who noted that this is because the Caribbean is the second-most affected region in the world, after sub-Saharan Africa.
She said that the project would help national and regional decision makers to reshape and rehearse strategies to respond to HIV.
The HIV/AIDS project is part of a worldwide exercise led by the World Bank and regional institutions to review the characteristics of the HIV epidemic in the Caribbean.
Evidence-based programming
It is aimed at providing the overall support the bank is providing to Caribbean countries and regional institutions responding to HIV.
"Its objective is to make available to decision makers a synthesis of the HIV epidemic and the response to it, and to describe the way forward in terns of evidence-based programming to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment care and support," said Jodi Zall Kusek, the monitoring and evaluation manager at the World Bank.
Figures show that at the end of 2007, an estimated 230,000 people were living with HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean. Some 17,000 people were newly infected during 2007, and there were 11,000 deaths due to AIDS.
In the Bahamas, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago more than two per cent of the adult population is living with HIV.
Granted these are smaller countries which might make it easier to gather information but I still think the U.S. should be doing more than we are with all of the resources we have. In my opinion, us not having up-to-date statisitcs is effectively ignoring the problem and just another way that the U.S. puts HIV/AIDS on the backburner.
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080313/carib/carib3.html
Still grim news for Carib regarding HIV/AIDS
published: Thursday March 13, 2008
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):
Caribbean health officials on Tuesday said that at least 31 people are dying daily in the Caribbean from the deadly HIV/AIDS virus.
UNAIDS Director Karen Sealey, speaking at the launch of an HIV Epidemic and Response Synthesis in the Caribbean, said that the statistics also show that 47 persons had become infected with the virus on a daily basis last year.
UNAIDS said it welcomed the initiative and is providing technical support.
"Despite the progress accomplished in recent years in the struggle against HIV, serious challenges remain," said Sealey, who noted that this is because the Caribbean is the second-most affected region in the world, after sub-Saharan Africa.
She said that the project would help national and regional decision makers to reshape and rehearse strategies to respond to HIV.
The HIV/AIDS project is part of a worldwide exercise led by the World Bank and regional institutions to review the characteristics of the HIV epidemic in the Caribbean.
Evidence-based programming
It is aimed at providing the overall support the bank is providing to Caribbean countries and regional institutions responding to HIV.
"Its objective is to make available to decision makers a synthesis of the HIV epidemic and the response to it, and to describe the way forward in terns of evidence-based programming to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment care and support," said Jodi Zall Kusek, the monitoring and evaluation manager at the World Bank.
Figures show that at the end of 2007, an estimated 230,000 people were living with HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean. Some 17,000 people were newly infected during 2007, and there were 11,000 deaths due to AIDS.
In the Bahamas, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago more than two per cent of the adult population is living with HIV.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Proposal for Video
(Yolanne listening to our wonderful natural sound audio :D)Yolanne Almanzar and Stephanie Garay would like to cover programs that assist newly released HIV-positive inmates from South Florida jails. These linkage programs test and counsel for HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases and then follow up to make sure that the newly released inmates know where to receive treatment after they have been released back into their communities. The programs are federally funded and operate through the Florida Department of Health.
We have left messages with several programs in Broward and Miami-Dade counties because we would like to do interviews on-site for our video. We have also tried to contact a director of another program that is funded through a grant that performs the same services for newly released inmates.
We have left messages with several programs in Broward and Miami-Dade counties because we would like to do interviews on-site for our video. We have also tried to contact a director of another program that is funded through a grant that performs the same services for newly released inmates.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Not AS Clueless
In light of the assignments given in this class, I am much more aware of tidbits about HIV or AIDS. The acronyms seem to jump out at me whenever I see them now. What’s new in AIDS research? What are they talking about now? Are people starting to care all of a sudden?
I noticed the front cover of the Miami New Times last week because the paper had an image of the ever popular hearts candies but with an AIDS-related message written on them. The paper used Valentine’s Day as an opener to talk about AIDS. Our professor mentioned that the Miami Herald had an article on AIDS in South Florida recently and teased a student about being a “blabber mouth” and giving the paper a tip on a good story. And you’d have to be living in a cave to hear about Bush’s “legacy” in Africa and his AIDS program there.
However, I am not sure if more people are writing about the disease or if I am so tuned into AIDS journalism now that I am noticing every little headline dealing with the issue.
Whatever the case, at least this project has made a classroom of journalism students more aware of an issue that, judging from our first blog entries, we didn’t know very much about. Now, there are over a dozen blogs filled with research and useful lengths proving once again that while the internet can be a wasteland in terms of accurate information, diligence and scrutiny can turn up some high-quality sites.
But what I’ve really learned is how much I don’t know. There is a saying that goes something like, “I know enough to know that I really don’t know.” That is how I feel about AIDS journalism.
I didn’t quite understand a headline I read today that talked about the “success” of a cream supposed to inhibit the transmission of AIDS when applied before sex that was proven safe for women to use but ineffective in stopping transmission of the virus. This was a big deal because previous creams tested actually INCREASED the risk of infection for users. More than 100 women over the course of three years were infected with HIV while using the cream and more than 150 women who were given the placebo were infected over the same time period. After reading that statement, I was aghast. These women were given a PLACEBO?!? For something as serious as AIDS!?! But after breathing and counting to ten slowly, I read a little more about the study and realized that the women were also given condoms and counseling on how to protect themselves from HIV. One of the main reasons these women were infected was that their partners did not want to wear condoms, which is precisely the reason that women need a way to protect themselves in the first place. Complicating the issue further is the U.S. policy of withholding aid funds from organizations that counsel patients on anything but abstinence, making condoms and STD prevention information hard to come by for those who desperately need it.
I didn’t quite understand a headline I read today that talked about the “success” of a cream supposed to inhibit the transmission of AIDS when applied before sex that was proven safe for women to use but ineffective in stopping transmission of the virus. This was a big deal because previous creams tested actually INCREASED the risk of infection for users. More than 100 women over the course of three years were infected with HIV while using the cream and more than 150 women who were given the placebo were infected over the same time period. After reading that statement, I was aghast. These women were given a PLACEBO?!? For something as serious as AIDS!?! But after breathing and counting to ten slowly, I read a little more about the study and realized that the women were also given condoms and counseling on how to protect themselves from HIV. One of the main reasons these women were infected was that their partners did not want to wear condoms, which is precisely the reason that women need a way to protect themselves in the first place. Complicating the issue further is the U.S. policy of withholding aid funds from organizations that counsel patients on anything but abstinence, making condoms and STD prevention information hard to come by for those who desperately need it.
The many facets of the AIDS epidemic are what make it such a complex issue, and such a serious one. We think of it as, well, just “wrap it up!” like a popular AIDS awareness campaign in the United States tells us to do. But in other countries it is not so easy, so simple, or so accepted. This project has made me realize all of the little issues I don’t consider when I think of AIDS and why the spread of the disease has not been curbed as it should have been by now.
LINKS:
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN1761857720080218
LINKS:
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN1761857720080218
Monday, January 28, 2008
CRUSADA Research Grant
(CRUSADA)Finally, the notion that one-size-fits-all when it comes to health care is slowly starting to fade away.
The National Institutes of Health gave Florida International University a $6.5 million grant to research drug abuse and HIV/AIDS among Latinos. One of the university’s goals is to design ways to help prevent the disease in the area the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported had the highest increase in new HIV/AIDS cases in the country in 2005: South Florida.
"There's a growing problem of HIV/AIDS in Miami's Hispanic community and among Hispanics nationwide. The population in Miami is in many ways different than in the rest of the country. It hopefully will provide us with some answers as to why Latinos abuse substances and why there's a growing rate of AIDS," Mario De La Rosa, director of the Center for Research on U.S. Latinos, HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA) at Florida International University told the Miami Herald.
CRUSADA is currently conducting studies on subjects such as the impact of the hurricanes on HIV/AIDS and the differences of HIV and substance abuse behaviors between Hispanic and non-Hispanic youth in Florida.
However, another research topic may prove to be especially valuable to the Latino community. De La Rosa and doctoral candidate Patria Rojas are conducting a study on the inter-generational transmission of drug use between Latina mothers and daughters. Relationships between Latina mothers and daughters are paramount and may serve as reliable indicators for behaviors and lifestyle choices.
The importance in studying Latina drug use lies in the fact that Latinas who are casual or chronic substance abusers are at an increased risk for HIV/AIDS. A paper published in American Psychologist stated that “studies have shown that people who are heavier drinkers or drug users tend to have more sexual partners and to use condoms less consistently.” Risky behaviors like this put this group at an increased risk for becoming infected with HIV/AIDS.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Latinas are five times more likely to be infected with HIV/AIDS than white women.
However, this study will not only give insight into the all important correlation between drug use and HIV/AIDS risk, but will also address the issue of culturally relevant methods of educating the diverse population of South Florida.
The study evaluates the methods that were used in obtaining the information from subjects. For example, all but one of the interviewers were bilingual, thus making it easier for the subject to speak in the language with which they were more comfortable. The interviewers were all women because previous research shows that women are more comfortable speaking about their sex lives with other women.
Of course, the researchers admit their pitfalls, especially in translation and word choice. For example, the paper cites one instance where a woman did not understand the term “partner” to mean significant other and initially said she did not have a partner. Later, researchers realized she did in fact have boyfriend but that she had been unfamiliar with the term used.
The National Institutes of Health gave Florida International University a $6.5 million grant to research drug abuse and HIV/AIDS among Latinos. One of the university’s goals is to design ways to help prevent the disease in the area the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported had the highest increase in new HIV/AIDS cases in the country in 2005: South Florida.
"There's a growing problem of HIV/AIDS in Miami's Hispanic community and among Hispanics nationwide. The population in Miami is in many ways different than in the rest of the country. It hopefully will provide us with some answers as to why Latinos abuse substances and why there's a growing rate of AIDS," Mario De La Rosa, director of the Center for Research on U.S. Latinos, HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA) at Florida International University told the Miami Herald.
CRUSADA is currently conducting studies on subjects such as the impact of the hurricanes on HIV/AIDS and the differences of HIV and substance abuse behaviors between Hispanic and non-Hispanic youth in Florida.
However, another research topic may prove to be especially valuable to the Latino community. De La Rosa and doctoral candidate Patria Rojas are conducting a study on the inter-generational transmission of drug use between Latina mothers and daughters. Relationships between Latina mothers and daughters are paramount and may serve as reliable indicators for behaviors and lifestyle choices.
The importance in studying Latina drug use lies in the fact that Latinas who are casual or chronic substance abusers are at an increased risk for HIV/AIDS. A paper published in American Psychologist stated that “studies have shown that people who are heavier drinkers or drug users tend to have more sexual partners and to use condoms less consistently.” Risky behaviors like this put this group at an increased risk for becoming infected with HIV/AIDS.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Latinas are five times more likely to be infected with HIV/AIDS than white women.
However, this study will not only give insight into the all important correlation between drug use and HIV/AIDS risk, but will also address the issue of culturally relevant methods of educating the diverse population of South Florida.
The study evaluates the methods that were used in obtaining the information from subjects. For example, all but one of the interviewers were bilingual, thus making it easier for the subject to speak in the language with which they were more comfortable. The interviewers were all women because previous research shows that women are more comfortable speaking about their sex lives with other women.
Of course, the researchers admit their pitfalls, especially in translation and word choice. For example, the paper cites one instance where a woman did not understand the term “partner” to mean significant other and initially said she did not have a partner. Later, researchers realized she did in fact have boyfriend but that she had been unfamiliar with the term used.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
AIDS in South Florida
In 2005, authorities dismantled a drug smuggling ring in Miami. This is nothing out of the ordinary for the city that the United States Drug Enforcement website cites as a primary area for drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.However, the drug was not cocaine or heroin, but a drug used to treat AIDS. Those arrested were not the usual suspects, but two Miami physicians who produced fake documentation and wrote excessive prescriptions for the illness in order to sell the drugs on the black market and two others who recruited and paid Medicaid patients to see the doctors.
While we might applaud the dismantling of a ring that conned the health care system for our poor out of more than a million dollars, as did Governor Crist in a press release on the Attorney General of Florida’s website, it begs the questions of how and why these precious drugs had to be peddled in the first place.
Last year, I came across a Mother Jones article that described how family members in the United States would buy black market AIDS drugs and send them home to places devastated with AIDS, like the Dominican Republic. A Dominican physician interviewed for the article said he would tell patients where to buy the illegal drugs even though these drugs are sometimes older versions and are always very expensive.
AIDS drugs are so much more accessible in the States that patients can choose not to take the drugs to treat their illness and peddle them instead. The article told of an American AIDS patient who sold his AIDS medication for illegal drugs. Even the lucky few in other countries whose families in the States send them the AIDS drugs resell the extra pills to other locales desperate to prolong their life. This is especially prevalent in areas with estimated rates of AIDS infection as high as 17% of the population, such as in certain parts of the Dominican Republic, whose rate of infected people is second only to Africa.
(Santiago, Dominican Republic)
I may not be from South Florida, but after four years of living here, I feel like I’ve learned a thing or two about the people who lay their heads to rest in the city of Miami. I would say “who call Miami home,” but the unique thing about many people who live in Miami is that they do not consider this city to be their home. The people of Miami tend to keep close ties to their roots because of Miami’s unique cultural dynamic, sometimes called a multicultural mosaic. For example, because many are fairly new arrivals, they are likely to flock to one of the several enclaves of Caribbean, South American, and Central American communities, like Little Havana or Little Haiti. In these communities, they have little reason to hurry the assimilation process along because they do not cut ties with their home country and find they can get by without even learning English.
Because of Miami’s proximity and strong cultural ties to places devastated by AIDS, one would think that coverage about AIDS in those countries would be much more prevalent, but it seems that the presence of AIDS drugs has hushed the interest in the disease. The accessibility of AIDS medication in the States has quieted the fears of the epidemic and, unfortunately, the cries of those who do not have access to the life-prolonging drugs, leaving them to choose between dying or obtaining the drugs illegally if they can afford them.
LINKS:
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/states/florida.html
http://myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/B1AA06B8001B37C4852570CA0055D3B6 http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2007/05/pill_pipeline.html
http://www.med.miami.edu/communications/som_news/index.asp?id=36
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-oeditor26nov26,0,5614504.story?coll=sofla_news_local_cuba_promo
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