HIV Takes Toll on Black Women

DURHAM — Speakers at a forum on black women and HIV/AIDS on Friday emphasized education, empowerment and doctor/patient communication as weapons in the battle against transmission of the deadly disease.

And the experts pointed out that black women today are much more likely to be infected with HIV than other women.

Lisa Hightow-Weidman, assistant professor of medicine with the UNC Center for Infectious Diseases, cited a 2001-2005 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that reported 67 percent of women with HIV are black.

Hightow-Weidman said socio-economic factors including higher rates of poverty appear to account for that racial disparity.

In another CDC study, Durham ranked fourth highest among North Carolina counties for its rate of HIV/AIDS infection, said Selena Monk, a project coordinator for Durham County Health Department.

"We wanted to have increased awareness of the impact of HIV on the community and especially women of color," said Tanya Jisa, continuing medical education coordinator at the Duke University School of Medicine. "We also want the community to know about the resources available to decrease the spread of HIV among this population."

One focus of the forum was the importance of educating the public — and especially black women — about HIV.

"People are still not talking about what HIV is, their behaviors or risk factors," said Monk. "People need to be tested. Knowing and getting into care will help people better deal with HIV, physically and emotionally."

Presenter Jacqueline Clements of the Durham County Health Department, offered prevention suggestions including talking about HIV and sexually transmitted diseases with every sexual partner one has, learning as much as possible about a partner’s behavior, asking partners if they have been recently tested for HIV, using latex condoms, getting treatment for sexually transmitted diseases that may increase the risk of HIV infection and getting tested for HIV during every regular medical check up.

Clements encouraged women to take care of themselves.

"Women get tested over and over again but do not ask their partners to get tested," Clements said. "This is not just a problem among African-American women, but all women."

Other speakers had suggestions for doctors treating HIV/AIDS patients.

Todd Wallenius, director of behavioral health services at Western North Carolina Community Health Services, Inc., said that having HIV is a journey, and it is important for patients to create road maps in order to see how the disease will affect the patient and the patient’s family.

"HIV does not discriminate. It infects and affects women, men, children and families," said Wallenius. "Creating a map makes the patient the expert and helps reduce anxiety."

Neil Prose, a pediatrician at Duke University Medical Center, spoke about communication between doctors and patients.

"Half of the work of health care providers is communicating with patients," Prose said. "It’s important to have empathy and imagine how the patient is feeling."

There was good news about the transmission of HIV from mother to child.

Ross McKinney, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at Duke Medical Center, said that transfer of HIV from mother to baby has decreased.

McKinney said that in recent years, he has only seen one or two cases a year of babies born with HIV, down from about 20 cases a year when he started in the field in 1986.

"We can essentially prevent transfer from mother to baby," said McKinney. "Awareness of diagnosis becomes critical because of the ramifications."

Despite this decrease in transmission of HIV to infants, McKinney still emphasized the importance of changing people’s behavior.

"We educate teenagers pretty well but changing their behavior is another matter," said McKinney. "There are still too many young, adolescent African-American women becoming infected."

Friday’s forum drew some 250 nurses, physicians, social workers and community activists, said Jisa.