Community Analysis

Running Head: COMMUNITY ANALYSIS 1

Community Analysis

The most prevalent risk factors among racial and ethnic minorities are unprotected vaginal or anal sex, inadequate sex education, improving access to prevention and care services and drug use. Jackson, MS has a population of 173,212, with median household income of $32,250. Poverty is one of the major contributing factors to the risky behaviors and the rise of HIV infections within racial/ethnic minority youths. The residents with incomes below the poverty level in Jackson, MS by 2015 was 39.9%, and those with income below 50% of the poverty level was 19.2%, the breakdown is between ages 13 to 19 years of poor residents in Jackson, MS and the percentage is below half of poverty level of 20%. The most common race or ethnicity living below the poverty line in Jackson, MS is Black or African American, followed by White and Hispanic or Latino. The state of homelessness is on the rise and many of these shelters in Jackson, MS now have waiting lists with majority of its occupants are racial/ethnic minority. Even with the waiting lists, those that need to be sheltered will have to call ahead to confirm (City Data, 2015).

Mississippi is one of the most rustic states in the United States and its population is perhaps the poorest. According to the 2010 Census, Mississippi has a population of 2,967,297 people, with a racial distribution of 59% white, 37% black, 3% Hispanic, and 2% other. Mississippi ranks second in the nation (after the District of Columbia) for the highest proportion of African Americans. Through U.S. Census Bureau 2011 American Community Surveys, Mississippi levels the first in the country for the number of people living in poverty (22.6% of the total population) and the lowest middle household revenue ($36,919) (United State Census Bureau, 2011). According to the 2011 National HIV Surveillance Report, Mississippi had the 4th highest rate of HIV infection in the United States. The state’s capital city, Jackson, had the third highest rate of HIV diagnoses within aged 13 to 19 years and the eighth highest AIDS diagnosis by metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in 2011. For the past twenty years, numbers of peoples living with HIV in Mississippi has risen yearly. By the end of December 31, 2013, there was approximately 10,473 Mississippians living with HIV (National HIV Surveillance Report, 2013).

Secondary data

Jackson, MS the state’s capital city and with the most new HIV disease cases are identified in the West Central Public Health District V, which includes the metropolitan Jackson Hinds area, where 47% of all persons with HIV disease in Mississippi reside presently (Mississippi State Department of Health, 2015). According to data for states and metropolitan areas, it’s shown that racial and ethnic minority youths aged between 13 to 19 years rank 4th in the diagnose of HIV at 44.7%. The education branch staff continuously work with the MSDH office of communication to develop educational materials and update website information to improve access to STD/HIV information. Mississippi is primarily a rural state. The Human and Health Services CAPUS cooperative agreement provided funding for this promotional activity, our program in Jackson Hinds using peer groups, social media and technology will go a long way in making the difference. The Jackson Metro area is urban and maintains the city’s only communal transport structure, JATRAN.

Participating in unprotected vaginal and anal sex, or sex without latex or polyurethane condoms is a major contributing factor of HIV rate among racial and ethnic minority youth and adolescents. In an infected youth or adolescents, the semen or the blood contains high amount of HIV. During unprotected vaginal and anal sex HIV can easily pass from one person to another. Several studies link risky behaviors like alcohol use to higher rates of unprotected vaginal and anal intercourse, higher numbers of sex partners, and inconsistent condom use (NIH, 2014). With these trends among racial and ethnic minority youth and adolescent, the National HIV Surveillance reports (2015) reported 76% racial and ethnic minority are infected with HIV (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015).

As results of inadequate sex education in the southern region of America, within school and communities of the racial and ethnic minority youth and adolescents increases the chance of HIV infection. Minority youth and adolescents who attend alternative high school are at increased risk for engaging in risky sexual behaviors compare with students who attend regular high schools (Lightfoot, Taboada, Taggart, Tran, & Burtaine, 2015). Approximately 280,000 students nationwide attend alternative high schools. 88% of these students have had sexual intercourse, compare with 46% of students in regular high schools. Many HIV prevention and risk reduction programs have focused on HIV knowledge, sex education, and the promotion of condom use. Such programs have effectively decreased sexual risk behaviors (National HIV Behavioral Surveillance, 2015). However, cultural beliefs often stands as barriers to programs such as condom education and distribution in some of these communities and population.

The use drugs like methamphetamine or cocaine can alter the judgment, lower the inhibitions, and impair one’s decisions about sex or other drug use. Someone is more likely to have unplanned and unprotected sex, have more sexual partners, or use other drugs, including injection drugs or meth. Those behaviors increase the risk of exposure to HIV. On one hand, substance abuse also increases the risk of contracting HIV. HIV infection is substantially associated with the use of contaminated or used needles to inject heroin. Likewise, already HIV infected person(s), can also increase the risk of spreading HIV to others. Being drunk or high affects your ability to make safe choices (Mitsch, Hall, & Babu, 2016).

Access to HIV prevention and treatment is an important step in helping achieve an HIV free generation, especially among racial and ethnic minority youth and adolescent. If a person(s) is diagnosed with HIV, adherence to treatment is important because it ensures that the person(s) remains healthy. Also, proper and continuous treatment can help in reducing the rate of HIV transmission. If more racial and ethnic minority youth and adolescents are under continuous and appropriate treatment, there’s a higher chance of being able to keep the virus at undetectable levels decreasing harm to the person’s body and systems and reducing the rates of transmission

Primary data

Collection of primary data is necessary to better define the risks and needs. With the help of grant staffers data will be collected from Jackson Hinds Comprehensive Health Center (JHCHC) and University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) that provides a comprehensive continuum of health and social services to HIV patients, and with the office of the Metropolitan Jackson Areas (MJA). In collaboration with Office of Minority Health (OMH), data of the metropolitan areas of Jackson has the fourth highest rate of HIV diagnosis per 100,000 population among the nation’s metro areas. That’s further tempered by statistics showing prevalence, numbers of people who have a new or old condition in a time period (CDC, 2014). Also, data collection will include qualified personal, experienced and knowledgeable professional to enable the program actualized its goals. In addition, the course of primary data collection the staffers collected an information from Ms. Jane an indigene of Jackson, Mississippi. In the course of the interview, I understood that the black men and women of the community engage in unprotected sex due to the fact that most black men prefer unprotected sex and if a partner suggests or encourages protected sex, it is viewed that the partner is unfaithful and has trust issues. This trend is also common among some female partners, but the demand for unprotected sex is mainly from the men than the ladies that's why HIV spreads so quickly in the racial minority community.

Summary

The prevalence of HIV infection and how this varies between subgroups is a fundamental indicator of epidemic control our target population. Also, with the help of the peer education programs, our program is strong to influence on individual behavior. As members of the target individuals, peer educators are anticipated to have a level of trust and comfort with their peers that allows for more open discussions of sensitive topics. In addition, social media provides an opportunity to extend the reach of HIV prevention and treatment efforts. Represents an important avenue for communication about HIV, and to ensure appropriate use communicate about HIV prevention and treatment. With responses to the organization finding and implementation of HIV prevention services, our program may address the issues faced by racial/ethnic minority youths by reduce numbers of people who become infected with HIV, increase access to care and improvement health outcomes for people living with HIV in Jackson Hinds, Mississippi, and reduce HIV related health disparities.