Latinos Shortchanged on HIV Prevention and Care
New York City, October 14, 2008– While almost half of Latinos think that AIDS is a more urgent problem in their community today than it was a few years ago, and nearly a third say they are personally very concerned about becoming infected with HIV, Latinos are less likely to have health coverage and prevention services than other groups.
“We know that Latinos in New York and around the country have less access to health insurance,” said Tracy Welsh, Executive Director of HIV Law Project. “It’s a matter of national shame that one third of Latinos lack health insurance, and nearly one quarter of Latinos living with HIV are uninsured.” As a result, Latinos have the highest rate of late diagnoses of HIV. Once diagnosed, Latinos with HIV have fared worse than other groups on several significant measures of healthcare access and quality.
Only fifty-two percent of foreign-born, Spanish speakers in New York City have a primary care physician. This lack of primary care means that Latinos, particularly foreign-born Latinos, are less likely to receive regular, preventive services, and consequently miss important opportunities for HIV testing and counseling, in addition to other routine services. Youth feel this absence acutely. In a study of Latino students, twenty percent said they had nowhere to go for medical attention.
“The Latino population is vulnerable on two fronts. Not only are fewer Latinos covered by health insurance, but Latinos, especially young people, have less access generally to health information,” said Ms. Welsh. Language barriers, a lack of culturally sensitive services, and high drop-out rates among Latino youth (more than double the national average) exacerbate the situation for young Latinos and Latinas seeking information. Without accurate, comprehensive information about safe sex practices generally as well as HIV prevention, unsafe practices become more commonplace. Only fifty-seven percent of Latina teens used contraception the first time they had sexual intercourse, as compared to eighty one percent of non-Hispanic whites.
“New York is duty-bound to ensure that culturally sensitive information about HIV prevention and safe-sex practices is reaching Latinos, especially young people,”said Ms. Welsh. “We must guarantee that Latinos of all ages have access to routine health care, including HIV testing, provided in their own language. We must also make certain that HIV-positive Latinos, regardless of immigration status, get the care and treatment they need.”
HIV Law Project believes that all people deserve the same rights, including the right to live with dignity and respect, the right to be treated as equal members of society, and the right to have their basic human needs fulfilled. These fundamental rights are elusive for many people living with HIV/AIDS. Through innovative legal services and advocacy programs, HIV Law Project fights for the rights of the most underserved people living with HIV/AIDS.