Participants viewing clips of the Sharing Stories, Creating Hope video during its launch on July 25, at the International AIDS Conference.
Latino Commission on AIDS and Merck Launch Innovative Bilingual HIV Educational Campaign
By Ana Orozco
On July 25, the Latino Commission on AIDS, in collaboration with Merck (known as MSD outside of the U.S. and Canada), launched Sharing Stories, Creating Hope, an innovative multimedia HIV educational campaign. This bilingual campaign connects the stories of health-care providers with the stories of Latinos living with HIV to demonstrate culturally-relevant HIV care strategies. This public health tool inspires a shared hope that reinforces how individuals and communities can come together to reduce HIV-related healthcare disparities.
Latinos account for approximately 16% of the U.S. population, yet they account for about 20% of all new HIV cases. Delayed testing and access to care are some reasons why Latinos are often diagnosed at a late stage of HIV infection. Sharing Stories, Creating Hope aims to address the unique challenges the community faces by strengthening patient-provider relationships and supporting engagement in care for Latinos/Hispanics living with HIV.
“Making a culturally relevant campaign accessible to providers and people living with HIV in order to further educate the community at large about the benefits of accessing HIV care and staying in treatment is critical for meeting the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which calls for significantly reducing new HIV infections and improving care for people living with HIV,” stated Guillermo Chacón, President, Latino Commission on AIDS. “We are pleased to work with Merck to launch this campaign, which is important not just for the Latino community, but the entire HIV field.”
"Merck has a longstanding history of collaborating with the HIV community to reduce healthcare disparities in treatment and care," said Chirfi Guindo, Merck General Manager and Global Commercial Leader, HIV. "Our unique cross-sector collaboration with the Latino Commission on AIDS is paramount to ensuring communities have access to culturally and linguistically relevant resources. We are proud to support the Sharing Stories, Creating Hope campaign that transforms the experiences of individuals into concrete strategies to improve linkage to and retention in HIV care.”
Home Grown Campaigns Resonate
By guest writer Fran Ricardo
This conference has a tremendous focus on HIV/AIDS in the Southern U.S. Key concepts to walk away with in exploring strategies include a focus on home -grown programs! Small organizations and their unique and focused programs make a huge impact in the epidemic. From addressing criminalization of positives, as does Aid to Inmate Moms in Alabama, to anti-stigma work in Arkansas, it takes a home grown campaign to resonate.
Within the theme of "Turning the Tide, " I am pleased to see interest in the ideas presented in our discussion of Voices of Immigrants in Action (VIA), especially as we addressed strategies key to prevention for Hispanic women: 1) increasing HIV testing and prevention information at Resource Hubs; 2) slow-growth programs where women's health literacy is explored in group meetings and through face to face contact; and 3) an extension of promotora de salud [community health worker] outreach. If we want an AIDS-free generation, women and strategies that respond to their realities will need to continue to take center stage!
Some great Southern groups working with positives that you should get to know:
Fran Ricardo is the Director of Development of the Rural Women's Health Project. She is program coordinator of the RWHP's "Lets Talk About It" peer positive women's program in North Central Florida.
Commission staff Tony Ochoa and Bethsy Morales-Reid presenting their poster "The Significant Role of Family and Peers in Interventions for Crystal Meth Using Latino MSM."
Poster Presentation: The Significant Role of Family and Peers in Interventions for Crystal Meth Using Latino MSM
by Bethsy Morales-Reid
The Commission’s Tony Ochoa worked with Bethsy Morales to analyze and present data around the use of crystal meth among Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) and its implications on HIV prevention among this group. For this study, 131 predominantly Spanish speaking Latino MSM responded to a survey at a gay venue in New York City on knowledge of crystal meth. The data shows that while the majority of respondents insisted they had never used crystal meth, a majority also said that their friends used. The results suggest that denying crystal meth use is a socially acceptable response in gay venues. Additional analyses also allow us to believe that HIV interventions for crystal meth using Latino MSM should focus on individual and group level support systems, including family, friends and peers. This information was presented during the poster session on July 25, at which attendees engaged in fruitful conversations with presenters. An interesting question that the poster received was, "do crystal meth users in the U.S. maintain contact with their families?" The question stemmed from findings from a study in China that showed that users who lived with their family members were able to count on their support. Some participants expressed interest in learning more about the impact of acculturation on perceived norms of crystal meth use among Latino MSM; others were more interested in learning about the differences in opinion the best sources of education about crystal meth for MSM. If you would like to learn more about this study please email bmorales@latinoaids.org or tochoa@latinoaids.org.
Commission Vice President Miriam Y. Vega with Congressman Chris van Hollen of the 8th district of Maryland, at the reception entitled “AIDS Free Generation? Not Without Women”, which was held at the Capitol Building on July 24. Congressman van Hollen is the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee.
One of many amazing pieces exhibited in the Global Village and throughout the conference site, this quilt is entitled Keiskamma After Guernica. It is part of A.R.T. , a project by Carol Hofmeyr and the Keiskamma Art Project from South Africa.
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