AIDS and HIV Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What resources are available to create HIV/AIDS prevention programs for your community?
Answer: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Prevention Information Network (NPIN) develops, identifies, and collects information on the prevention, treatment and control of HIV/AIDS and makes this information available to healthcare providers, patients, grassroots community organizations, and organizations working in prevention, research, and support services.
Also, an extensive index of publications on HIV/AIDS prevention were developed by the CDC's National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention and can be accessed online from their website.
The Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention (RCAP) promotes HIV/STD prevention in rural America, with the goal of reducing HIV/STD incidence. The RCAP develops and evaluates educational materials and approaches, examines the behavioral and social barriers to HIV/STD prevention. RCAP will provide prevention resources to professionals and the public.
- Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention
Indiana University
801 East Seventh St.
Bloomington, IN 47405-3085
Voice and TDD:
812.855.1718 &
800.566.8644
Fax: 812.855.3717
E-mail: aids@indiana.edu
Also, you may contact your state health department for resources and information on HIV/AIDS prevention programs. State contact information is available at CDC's Public Health Resources: State Health Departments.
Question: Where can a health care provider find current HIV clinical information, and individualized consultation of clinical HIV/AIDS problems including information about treating HIV-infected pregnant women?
Answer:
- National HIV Telephone Consultation Service (Warmline)
Warmline offers physicians and other health care providers up-to-the-minute HIV clinical information, and individualized expert case consultation across the broad range of clinical HIV/AIDS problems. Warmline is staffed by clinicians experienced in HIV care who can help provide the best possible care for HIV-positive patients. Call 800.933.3413.
- National Perinatal HIV Consultation and Referral Service (Perinatal Hotline)
Provides free 24-hour clinical consultation and advice on treating HIV-infected pregnant women and their infants as well as indications and interpretations of rapid and standard HIV testing in pregnancy. Call 888.448.8765.
Question: Where can a clinician find information about occupational exposure to HIV or post-exposure treatment for HIV for health care providers?
Answer: National Clinicians' Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Hotline (PEPline) offers treating clinicians up-to-the-minute advice on managing occupational exposures (i. e., needlesticks, splashes, etc.) to HIV, hepatitis and other blood-borne pathogens. PEPline clinicians will respond to your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Clinicians will help assess the risk of the exposure, discuss the most recent post-exposure prophylaxis protocols, and review specific treatment and follow-up options. Written materials supporting the telephone discussion are sent by mail or fax whenever needed. Call 888.448.4911.
Question: What are some issues with providing care for those with AIDS/HIV in rural communities?
Answer: Living with AIDS/HIV in rural areas creates issues that may make providing care difficult. Rural facilities may have limited AIDS/HIV local health care services, thereby forcing patients to travel long distances for further treatment. Rural areas have close-knit social networks that make it hard to get tested, or to buy condoms without friends or acquaintances noticing. People living in rural areas may not get tested for fear of what others in the community may say or they may know the personnel at the local health facility, which adds to their hesitation in seeking medical help. Not all rural residents have a health care provider and not all health care providers have the skills to address sexual health.
Question: How can rural communities work to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS?
Answer: According to HIV/AIDS in Rural America: Challenges and Promising Strategies, race and ethnicity are not risk factors for HIV. However, minority status is related to social determinants that are associated with higher rates of AIDS/HIV. These include a lack of economic and educational opportunities, poor access to health care, high rates of other sexually transmitted diseases, and living in neighborhoods where drugs are used. The report also states that young people living in rural areas are less likely to use condoms than those living in urban areas.
In rural areas, traditional values may keep people from talking about sexuality and learning how to prevent AIDS/HIV. Furthermore, these values may add to the stigma toward those who have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS.
Treatment of the disease is possible to varying degrees of success, however prevention is the key, mainly through education. Through early intervention and education, city officials, teachers, community leaders, and health care providers can work together to mitigate this disease.
The best strategies that address HIV/AIDS in rural areas are those that a community can adapt to meet their own unique needs and strengths. These strategies may include providing HIV prevention counseling during pregnancy, or providing free condoms. Other strategies are providing ongoing education in the community including prevention education in schools or in after-school programs. Reaching out to at-risk groups, reducing individual risk behaviors, and increasing community awareness of how HIV is transmitted are also ways a community can work together. Using people in the community to break the silence may be helpful. These may include a local community leader, a church leader, a women’s group, or a service group. Rural communities may offer testing in private places or routine testing in a neutral community space. A community may try to link someone diagnosed with HIV/AIDS to someone via ongoing phone support or quarterly visits from a specialist.
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Last revised 05/10/2011
