AIDS is an acquired immune deficiency syndrome that first starts off as a virus (HIV) and if not treated it turns into AIDS which is the third and final stage of the HIV virus. Today AIDS is considered to be the one of the top deadliest diseases in the world. Many die of HIV/AIDS disease as it attacks your immune system leaving no room for your body to attack against the disease. To make matters worse many people infected by HIV/AIDS don’t know they have the disease until the disease is in a late stage so it is left untreated for a long time.
People of all races and ethnicities are affected by this disease but some more than others. The distribution of AIDS in America by race and ethnicity is more common in Hispanics and African Americans (Hutchinson). Many female and male minorities of Hispanic and African American ethnicity suffer from AIDS. In both Hispanic and African American communities HIV/AIDS has become an epidemic. There are many factors that contribute to the increase of AIDS in Hispanic and African American communities like less sex education, health care use, and socioeconomic status.
The reason many African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities aren’t aware that they have this disease varies. Since some symptoms of HIV/AIDS vary some are silent and have no physical prognosis it hard to tell there is something wrong with the human body. Since many African Americans like Hispanics are low income and live in poor communities they lack health education. Without proper sex education people aren’t aware of diseases, contraception, and abstinence. Many minorities such as Hispanics and African Americans are low income therefore; some may not have health insurance to visit the doctor’s as often as other well off people do.
According to Latinos and AIDS, one third of Hispanics do not have health insurance. Many people are also scared to be diagnosed with HIV/AIDS so they avoid being tested. According to Latino and AIDS since many people avoid being tested many people do not find out about the disease until it is too late. According to an article on late HIV/AIDS prognosis 42. 3 percent of African Americans with AIDS don’t find out they have the disease until about after twelve months, so many African Americans with AIDS receive a late diagnosis and are at a late stage in HIV or AIDS.
Since many Hispanics and African Americans find out they have HIV in a late stage (AIDS) there is a high mortality rate among these people. There are many ways HIV/AIDS can be transmitted to a person such as men who have sex with other men (MSM), injection drug use (IDU), oral sex, and unprotected sex with men and women. Depending on the way it was passed on to a victim it can determine the years of survival followed by proper medication. According to an article on HIV late diagnosis people who are transferred the disease through drug injection die faster than if it would be transferred in any other way.
The short survival of people who have AIDS through drug injection vary such as late testing, worn out immune system from drug abuse. People who share needles during drug use are at high risk of HIV/AIDS. Having oral sex and sex itself without the use of a condom can lead to HIV/AIDS if the male or female has been promiscuous with other people and do not use condoms. In some cases many people stop using contraception due to religion factors.
According to an article named “Concern about AIDS in Minority Communities”, Catholic Church opposes the use of condoms and other forms of contraception which is another barrier against condom use. Barriers like these in minorities affect the spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases. According to the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, “African Americans account for 46 percent of HIV/AIDS infections in America, Hispanics account for 20 percent and other such as whites, Asians, Indians, and Pacific Islanders account for the remaining 34 percent”.
African Americans have a huge percentage accounting that there are many other people from different ethnicities with AIDS. Because of this there are also many mortality rates in African Americans and Hispanics. Although African Americans and Hispanics are the two minority communities that are strongly affected by AIDS, statistics show that “infection rates are growing among two other minority communities – the Asian American/Pacific Islander and Native American communities”.
Because more minorities are being infected with this disease more people are becoming infected thus the life expectancy is decreasing among minorities. According to Hutchinson “minorities experience a shorter life expectancy, higher rates of debilitating and chronic disease, and lower protection against infectious diseases” which summarizes my main idea for why many minorities have AIDS. AIDS today impacts many minority communities such as those of Hispanics and African American culture.
There are many obstacles that do not allow minorities to be preventive towards diseases. Many minority communities are low income, lack sex education, and lack decent health care use. Since minorities live in not so well communities there are not many health advocates who can advise them on diseases and infections. Since minorities tend to be low income they cannot afford to have monthly, semiannual, or even yearly doctor checkups. Due to this more people in the United States are becoming victims of AIDS especially those of African American and Hispanic descent.
If people especially minorities had more access to free clinics, hospitals or be granted a good health insurance, and become more educated on the severity of HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and understand the importance of condom use throughout every sexual contact the percentages of minorities with AIDS would decrease.Specialists create a cure for AIDS soon, people become sex educated and start using condoms or the percentage of people throughout the United States with HIV/AIDS will only increase.
Works Cited Cynthia M. Lyles, et al. “HIV Counseling And Testing Among Hispanics At CDC-Funded Sites In The United States, 2007.
” American Journal Of Public Health 100. Suppl. 1 (2010): S152-S158. Biological Abstracts 1969 – Present. Print. 1 Mar. 2013. Greely, Alexandra. “Concern about AIDS in Minority Communities” FDA Consumer 29. 10: (1995) 11. Academic Search Premier. Web. 27 February 2013.
Heckman, B. D. (2006), “Psychosocial Differences Between Whites and African Americans Living With HIV/AIDS in Rural Areas of 13 US States. ” The Journal of Rural Health, 22: 131–139. doi: 10. 1111/j. 1748-0361. 2006. 00021. x Hutchinson, J, “AIDS and racism in America. ” The Journal of National Medical Association: 119-124. Volume 84, No. 2. Print. February 1992. R. L.Shouse, et al. “Disparities In Diagnoses Of HIV Infection Between Blacks/African Americans And Other Racial/Ethnic Populations-37 States, 2005-2008. ” Morbidity And Mortality Weekly Report 60. 4 (n. d. ): 93-98.
Biological Abstracts 1969 – Present. Web. 27 February 2013. Rousseau, Millie Acebal. “Latinos & AIDS. ” Hispanic 20. 10 (2007): 22. Academic Search Premier. Web. 27 February 2013. Xiangming Wei, et al. “Late HIV Diagnosis And Determinants Of Progression To AIDS Or Death After HIV Diagnosis Among Injection Drug Users, 33 US States, 1996-2004. ” Plos One 4. 2 (n. d. ): Article. Biological Abstracts 1969 – Present. Print. 1 Mar. 2013.