Oral

While the impact of certain HIV/AIDS-related health behaviors and practices are well known among men who have sex with other men (MSMs), the unique prevention and care needs of women who are vulnerable to acquiring HIV infection and/or those who are already living with HIV/AIDS are less understood. Public health strategies that overlook underlying gender, age, and economic inequalities can serve as key drivers for HIV transmission and poor survival outcomes. This oral session will explore the impact of the community’s role in HIV/AIDS prevention, particularly among African-American (AA) women. Compared to their white female counterparts, AA women of all age are disproportionately burdened by HIV infection and AIDS-related death. The first presentation will explore past and present HIV advocacy efforts aimed at women in the United States (U.S.). The next presentation will examine reasons why some young AA women (18-23 years old) are willing to and interested in taking part in HIV prevention programs. Despite an increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS among midlife and older women, this segment of the population is often overlooked in HIV prevention efforts primarily because of misperceptions that this demographic is not at risk for having HIV/AIDS. The third presentation for this session helps to dispel this myth by highlighting the need to target midlife and older AA women, especially during this period in U.S. history where there has been an unprecedented growth in the number of older adults. The last presentation discusses themes that emerged from focus group discussions with AA HIV-positive women around the issue of reducing HIV/AIDS-related stigma. These presentations will be useful for helping to inform future directions for HIV prevention research aimed at improving the quality of life of women living with HIV/AIDS across their lifespan.

Session Objectives: 1. Discuss an overview of domestic women’s HIV advocacy resources that are available in the U.S. 2. Describe reasons why young AA women participate in HIV/AIDS prevention programs. 3. Describe one or more effective HIV/AIDS risk- and/or stigma-reduction strategies that can be used with AA women.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH) , Masters Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES)