In 2018, 27 percent of the 37,968 new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. were among Hispanics/Latinos.

The prevalence of HIV is a threat to Latinx communities that frequently gets swept under the rug due to the stigma surrounding HIV. 1 in 6 Latinx folks with HIV do not know that they have the virus. This generates a dangerous cycle where individuals who are unaware of their status unknowingly transmit HIV to other people. When a person is unaware of their HIV status then they cannot take the proper preventative or treatment methods. 

Most new HIV diagnoses among Hispanics/Latinos were among gay and bisexual men. “Machismo” which is the strong or aggressive masculine pride, is very present in Hispanic/Latino culture. This culture creates a barrier for individuals to acknowledge the risky behaviors that they may be participating in such as male-to-male sexual contact or substance abuse.

Latinx folks face a plethora of barriers to getting an HIV test or accessing HIV prevention services. Some of these barriers include the fear of having to disclose your immigration status, poverty, migration patterns, lower educational levels, and language barriers. Members of the Latinx community are more likely to be uninsured than non-Hispanic whites and half of the Latinos in the U.S. have reported having experiences discrimination or having been treated unfairly because of their race od ethnicity when accessing health care.

Compared to other individuals living with HIV, Hispanics/Latinos have lower viral suppression rates. This can be linked to the high levels of medical mistrust in Hispanic/Latino communities stemming from situations such as the Puerto Rico Birth Control Trials. During the trials, poor women were given a higher dose of the drug without being told that they were a part of a trial or about the risks associated with the drug. Three women died and their deaths were never investigated. Medical mistrust can lead to lower quality of healthcare, failure of patients to adhere to medical advice, avoidance of recommended testing and screening, underuse of health care services, and lower satisfaction with the care that they do receive. 

 

Possible Solutions

• Create opportunities for Latinx community members to participate in outreach within their own communities
• Builds meaningful connections and creates support systems for those in the LatinX HIV+ community
• Advocacy represented by those within the community will build trust and visibility for those harboring mistrust
• Creates a safe place for members seeking counsel and resources that would be otherwise hesitant and distrustful of traditional medical forums and information centers
• interventions should be developed tpp address perceived discrimination and medical mistrust.

References

References

CDC: HIV Among Latinos

Discrimination

• UMMC Population Health Science

Medical Mistrust Results

• Krogstad & Lopez, 2016

Solutions

• Discrimination against LatinX Community Contributes To Medical Mistrust by Agripina Alejandres-Ceja

 

Kheyanna Suarez

Georgia Equality: Ending the Epidemic Fellow

“She, Her, Hers”