The stigma surrounding HIV has kept people infected with the virus in the Arkansas delta region from coming forward for health services, including antiretroviral treatment, according to a panelist at a meeting earlier this month in Little Rock and was reported on by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
Katharine Stewart, of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ College of Public Health, spoke about the issue with the Arkansas HIV/AIDS Minority Task Force, a group dedicated to HIV issues among people of color in Arkansas. She reported that HIV/AIDS rates among blacks throughout Arkansas are five times higher than those among whites and that a high level of stigma pervades the black community. Not only does this hinder access to necessary care, she said, but it also prevents blacks from accessing necessary information to assess their HIV risk and to protect themselves from infection.
The task force is developing recommendations that will be presented to Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe on November 1. The group will meet again September 22 in West Memphis.
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