WSJ Looks at HIV/AIDS in African-Americans
The Wall Street Journal today looks at the increase in HIV infections among African Americans, noting that policy makers, AIDS activists and "even drug companies" are examining why prevention measures that have been successful with other populations "don't seem to be resonating with blacks." African Americans, who make up only 12% of the U.S. population, now account for more than half of new HIV infections. The Journal reports that the higher infection rate among blacks can be attributed to a number of factors -- "enduring socioeconomic disparities," lack of access to medical care, a distrust of the medical establishment, a disproportionate representation in U.S. prisons and a greater chance of living in communities with high rates of STDs and "other social ills." In addition, the African-American community still considers the subject of men who have sex with men "taboo"; black men who do so may not consider themselves homosexual and may not divulge their sexual behavior to female sexual partners (Carrns, Wall Street Journal, 5/30).
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