In today’s episode of What the Health, Professor Angel Algarin from Arizona State University discusses the current status of the HIV epidemic. He highlights the urgency of the situation, emphasizing that despite significant advancements in treatments, HIV remains a consequential national and global issue. The virus continues to impact particular sections of the population, including gay and bisexual men and certain racial/ethnic groups disproportionately. The conversation also touches on the persisting, insidious effects of HIV-related stigma and the need for better awareness regarding prevention, testing and treatment. Effective interventions are available, but access disparities persist. Professor Algarin ends with an optimistic outlook, hoping for an escalation in efforts to reach those who need it the most.
00:31 Introduction to the Current State of HIV
01:30 The Silent Threat of HIV
02:20 Interview with Professor Angel Algarin
02:52 Understanding HIV Stigma and Misconceptions
04:42 The Role of Advocacy in HIV Awareness
05:27 The Importance of HIV Testing and Awareness
09:34 Addressing HIV Stigma in Different Communities
11:47 The Impact of Culture on HIV Perception
22:17 The Future of HIV Epidemic
26:41 Conclusion and Health Hacks
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Unfortunately, this relative lack of attention is sad and potentially dangerous. While advances in the battle have been made, HIV remains a national and global threat, a threat that is all the more challenging because it remains shrouded by misconceptions and stigmas that all help to prevent the problem from being eliminated.
Our next guest is here to help us refocus on the problems, treatments, and solutions that may eventually eradicate HIV.
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We're talking about a very serious issue today. And really where public perceptions of that issue have evolved in the last well, 20, 30 years. And that of course is HIV and the AIDS epidemic. So I'd like to welcome Professor Algaren to the broadcasts.
Professor Elgaran, give us a little bit of background on your study and research focus.
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But there seems to be not as much general focus on HIV and AIDS, at least in the general population. At Would you agree with that? And if so, why?
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So we have Effective biomedical interventions that are being implemented right now to reduce the HIV epidemic in the United States.
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And then for other risk behaviors, you should be tested regularly. And so we should be having these conversations because HIV indeed affects everyone. It does tend to focus primarily on men who have sex with men who make up two thirds of people living with HIV or with new diagnosis in the United States.
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And it's important to have these conversations of I want to have this conversation with you because you're somebody I love. And have you thought about using PrEP and having that open and honest conversation?
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But when you Talk about something this dangerous. Does that also have an impact on why information awareness is so critical? Those are sort of two different questions.
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But still that stigma remains with people who are not living with HIV or maybe a little bit not as informed about the advances in HIV science.
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So there you can see an over 50 percent difference of who is accessing PrEP, and I think that some of that disparity is made up because of the lack of health communication efforts that target these populations.
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Is that a function among other things of economic disparity too? And health care and how that relates to health care for those groups.
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They don't really have to worry about facing stigma due to their sexuality, and they don't have to worry about facing stigma due to their skin. And so, these are the types of things that we're starting to look at and break down.
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So, because people are testing more that we may be catching more infections, which is a great thing for, so we can get people on antiretroviral therapy, but we still need to unpack those, and I think because we've seen this higher number, our state and local health departments will be looking into that.
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But when, once the, those other data come out, I would be really interested to see, and probably one of the things that if your listeners are interested, is to keep an eye on.
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And so, I would say that the majority of the people that I am around probably know that you equals you undetectable equals untransmittable. Full message that this is not really well understood among the general US population. It is probably one of the largest reasons why HIV stigma continues to persist.
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And that's not necessarily the case. Anybody who is engaging in HIV risk behavior, such as sexual contact without a condom whether they are injecting drugs with not clean needles are at risk for acquiring HIV. So it's not only men who have sex with men. It's not only people who inject drugs.
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That's why it's so important for folks to go get tested because then you actually have that confirmation of whether you or that other person is living with HIV
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You should want to talk to your provider and your provider should want to talk to you about these topics. So, definitely don't feel uncomfortable bringing this up with your provider.
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Personal awareness of the risks, precautions, support, and treatments available is also an important component in the battle against HIV. Knowledge, as always, is power. And while there are no cures, treatments now exist that can reduce the amount of HIV in a person so they can lead a healthy life. And that's good news.
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