Private MD News

Experts call for HIV prevention programs for minority groups

Category: HIV

In light of recent findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevent, which show that minority groups are significantly more likely to contract HIV than whites, some health experts are calling for more targeted programs that offer HIV testing and education to these groups.

The report from the CDC shows that 1 in 22 African Americans and 1 in 52 Hispanics will contract the virus. Only 1 in 170 Caucasians will receive a positive HIV test.

Lori McGuire, a women's health expert and nurse practitioner with the Mayo Clinic, recently wrote on the organization's site that these disparities should be unacceptable to care providers. She proposed new programs that will help reduce the rates of infection in these two groups.

"As parents, educators and health care providers, we all have a big task," she wrote. "We need to talk about risky behaviors and the potential consequences of those behaviors. It's well proven that talking about contraception and sexually transmitted infections delays the timing of sexual intercourse and reduces risky behaviors."