One Conversation at a Time | Features | CDC

One Conversation at a Time | Features | CDC

One Conversation at a Time

Encouraging Hispanics/Latinos to Talk Openly about HIV/AIDS

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched We Can Stop HIV One Conversation at a Time/Podemos Detener el VIH Una Conversación a la Vez, a national communication campaign that encourages Hispanics/Latinos to talk openly about HIV/AIDS with their families, friends, partners, and communities. The campaign is part of CDC’s Act Against AIDS (AAA) initiative.

With a call to action that highlights the importance of talking about HIV,We Can Stop HIV One Conversation at a Time is CDC’s first communication campaign specifically developed to increase HIV/AIDS awareness among the Hispanic/Latino communities and decrease HIV-associated stigma and shame, which may prevent people from talking about HIV and AIDS.

Developed with input from hundreds of Hispanics/Latinos across the country and key Hispanic/Latino community organizations, the campaign features Hispanic/Latino men and women from culturally diverse backgrounds and highlights important facts and messages to prompt open conversations about HIV/AIDS. Campaign resources, including a dedicated campaign website, provide facts and practical tools and tips to help families and friends begin or continue important conversations about HIV prevention, testing, and treatment.

HIV/AIDS Continues to Threaten the Health of Hispanic/Latino Communities

Hispanics/Latinos in the United States are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS; although they represent 16% of the total U.S. population, Hispanics/Latinos account for 19% of the 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States and 21% of new HIV infections each year.1 Learn more about the impact of HIV among Hispanics/Latinos.

If current trends continue, an estimated 1 in 36 Hispanic/Latino men and 1 in 106 Hispanic/Latina women will be diagnosed with HIV at some point in their lifetime. Among Hispanics/Latinos, some groups are more at risk than others. Those most at risk include gay and bisexual men, young people (ages 13-29), and women.

• Hispanic/Latino men account for 87% of all new HIV infections among Hispanics/Latinos in the United States.
  • Most new HIV infections among Hispanic/Latino men (79%) occur among gay and bisexual men.
• Hispanic/Latino youth (ages 13-29) accounted for roughly 20% of new HIV infections among youth in 2010.
• Among Hispanic/Latina women, the rate of HIV infection is 4 times as high as that of white females.1

A number of challenges may contribute to the burden of HIV in Hispanic/Latino communities including:

• Limited access to health care
• Language or cultural barriers in health care settings
• Stigma
• Discrimination
• Poverty
• Injection drug use

Additionally, although more than 220,000 Hispanics/Latinos are living with HIV, studies have found that many in the community do not talk about HIV risk, prevention, or testing. In fact, a recent study found that only about half (56%) of Hispanics/Latinos have talked with friends or family about HIV in the past year.2 Even when Latinos are ready to discuss HIV, many do not have all the knowledge they need to start these important conversations: for example, recent surveys have found that nearly three-quarters of Hispanics/Latinos want more information to help them talk to their children about HIV.3

Hispanics/Latinos Can Stop HIV One Conversation at a Time

While it may not always be easy to discuss, research has shown that talking about HIV/AIDS is associated with more knowledge about HIV prevention, more condom use, and increased HIV testing, all of which are associated with fewer new HIV infections and better health outcomes.5,6,7 Empowering Hispanics/Latinos to talk openly about HIV/AIDS with families, friends, and partners can also help address some of the negative stigma, stereotypes, and shame that are too often associated with HIV in mainstream culture and within some segments of the Hispanic/Latino community.

One Conversation at a Time is based on the reality that it’s not always easy to talk about HIV and that barriers to open dialogue are real and challenging. The campaign builds on this to provide specific topics for discussion, resources, and conversation starters to help Hispanics/Latinos relay useful and accurate information about HIV when they talk to family members and friends about HIV prevention, testing, and treatment.

Together, all of our conversations can help protect the health of the community and reduce the spread of HIV. Outlined below are several ways you can get involved and help spark conversations about HIV.

• Visit the One Conversation at a Time campaign website in English and Spanish for facts and practical tools and tips to help families, friends, and communities begin or continue conversations about HIV.
• Join the conversation online.
  • Like the Act Against AIDS Facebook Page, share or respond to our posts, and direct your followers to check out our page and our website.
  • Talk with us on Twitter. Spark online conversations about HIV/AIDS, using the hashtag#OneConversation and by following our account @TalkHIV.
  • Share One Conversation at a Time campaign PSA on YouTube and embed on your websites or social media channels.
• Download and distribute bilingual campaign materials. Download campaign posters, palm cards, and brochures from ourcampaign website. Digital banner ads are also available for download and use for placement on any website or social media channel.
• Start conversations about HIV/AIDS. Whether you talk, type, or text, it is important that you start conversations about HIV/AIDS in your community. Together, we can help the Hispanic/Latino community stop the spread of HIV One Conversation at a Time.

We Can Stop HIV One Conversation at a Time is part of Act Against AIDS (AAA), CDC’s national communication initiative to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and reduce new HIV infections among all Americans, especially those hardest hit by HIV. The initiative includes multiple campaigns for different audiences as well as tools and information for health care providers regarding HIV testing, prevention, and treatment. Through the Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative (AAALI), this effort also fosters partnerships between CDC and some of the nation’s leading organizations representing the populations hardest hit by HIV and AIDS. Visit www.cdc.gov/OneConversation to learn more. To request campaign materials or additional information, please visit our campaign website or contact ActAgainstAIDS@cdc.gov.

References

1. CDC. Estimated HIV incidence in the United States, 2007–2010. HIV Surveillance Supplemental Report. 2012;17(No. 4). December 2012.
2. Porter Novelli. Styles and Estilos Consumer Surveys. 2012 and 2013.
3. Kaiser Family Foundation. HIV/AIDS at 30: A public opinion perspective. June 2011[796 KB].
4. Cashman R et al. (2011). Exploring the sexual health priorities and needs of immigrant Latinas in the southeastern United States: A community-based participatory research approach. AIDS Education and Prevention. 2011 Jun;23(3):236-48
5. Albarracin J et al. Demographic factors and sexist beliefs as predictors of condom use among Latinos in the USA. AIDS Care. 2010 Aug;22(8):1021-8.
6. Rojas-Guyler L et al. Acculturation, health protective sexual communication, and HIV/AIDS risk behavior among Hispanic women in a large midwestern city. Health Education and Behavior. 2005 Dec;32(6):767-79.
7. MacPhail C et al. Factors associated with HIV testing among sexually active South African youth aged 15-24 years. AIDS Care. 2009 Apr;21(4):456-67.