State of HIV in the US Deep South.
Abstract
The Southern United States has been disproportionately affected by HIV diagnoses and
mortality. To inform efforts to effectively address HIV in the South, this manuscript
synthesizes recent data on HIV epidemiology, care financing, and current research
literature on factors that predispose this region to experience a greater impact of
HIV. The manuscript focuses on a specific Southern region, the Deep South, which has
been particularly affected by HIV. Epidemiologic data from the Centers from Disease
Control and Prevention indicate that the Deep South had the highest HIV diagnosis
rate and the highest number of individuals diagnosed with HIV (18,087) in 2014. The
percentage of new HIV diagnoses that were female has decreased over time (2008-2014)
while increasing among minority MSM. The Deep South also had the highest death rates
with HIV as an underlying cause of any US region in 2014. Despite higher diagnosis
and death rates, the Deep South received less federal government and private foundation
funding per person living with HIV than the US overall. Factors that have been identified
as contributors to the disproportionate effects of HIV in the Deep South include pervasive
HIV-related stigma, poverty, higher levels of sexually transmitted infections, racial
inequality and bias, and laws that further HIV-related stigma and fear. Interventions
that address and abate the contributors to the spread of HIV disease and the poorer
HIV-related outcomes in the Deep South are warranted. Funding inequalities by region
must also be examined and addressed to reduce the regional disparities in HIV incidence
and mortality.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/13807Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1007/s10900-017-0325-8Publication Info
Reif, Susan; Safley, Donna; McAllaster, Carolyn; Wilson, Elena; & Whetten, Kathryn (2017). State of HIV in the US Deep South. J Community Health. 10.1007/s10900-017-0325-8. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/13807.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Carolyn McAllaster
Colin W. Brown Clinical Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Carolyn McAllaster is the founder of the Health Justice Clinic, formerly the AIDS/HIV
and Cancer Legal Project, directs the HIV/AIDS Policy Clinic, and is a Clinical Professor
of Law at Duke. She supervises students in the AIDS/HIV Policy Clinic and teaches
a course on AIDS and the Law.
McAllaster received her BA in German from the University of North Carolina in Chapel
Hill in 1972, and her JD from the UNC Law School in 1976. She began her practice of
law in Durham with a litigation
Susan Reif
Research Scholar
Kathryn Whetten
Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy
Director, Center for Health Policy and Inequalities ResearchResearch Director, Hart
Fellows Program,Professor, Public Policy and Global Health Professor, Nursing and
Community & Family Medicine Pronouns: they/themKathryn Whetten is the Principal Investigator
on multiple grants and publishes numerous scientific articles every year. In addition,
they mentor many students and give guest lectures and presentations throughout the
year.
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