Minority Health and Health Equity Archive
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/21769
Welcome to the Minority Health and Health Equity Archive (MHHEA), an electronic archive for digital resource materials in the fields of minority health and health disparities research and policy. It is offered as a no-charge resource to the public, academic scholars and health science researchers interested in the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities.
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Item Health-Related Correlates of Perceived Discrimination in HIV Care(2004) Bird, Sheryl Thorburn; Bogart, Laura M; Delahanty, Douglas LNegative interactions with health care providers can have important implications for the health and health care of HIV-positive individuals. The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of race-based and socioeconomic status (SES)-based discrimination during interactions with HIV treatment providers. We recruited 110 individuals (17% female, 51% white) living with HIV from an AIDS service organization in a midwestern city. Results indicated that the majority of participants had perceived discrimination in their interactions with providers when getting treatment for HIV. More specifically, 71% reported having experienced discrimination when receiving treatment for HIV based on their race or color, and 66% reported discrimination attributed to their socioeconomic status, position, or social class. However, participants indicated that they experienced discrimination infrequently. No significant racial/ethnic differences in reports of discrimination were observed. In addition, greater race-based and SES-based discrimination were each associated with greater levels of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms, greater severity of AIDS-related symptoms, lower perceived general health, and less health care satisfaction. Greater SES-based discrimination was also related to lower adherence to antiretroviral medications. Our findings suggest that experiences with discrimination when getting treatment have important implications for the health and health care of HIV-positive individuals. It is important to note, however, that discrimination based on HIV status or sexual orientation was not assessed and may have affected the results. Studies that explore perceptions of discrimination based on other factors among HIV-positive individuals may improve understanding of the nature, extent, and consequences of discrimination in patient-provider interactions.Item Are HIV/AIDS Conspiracy Beliefs a Barrier to HIV Prevention Among African Americans?(2005) Bogart, Laura M; Thorburn, SherylObjectives: This study examined endorsement of HIV/AIDS conspiracy beliefs and their relations to consistent condom use and condom attitudes among African Americans. Methods: We conducted a telephone survey with a random sample of 500 African Americans aged 15 to 44 years and living in the contiguous United States. Results: A significant proportion of respondents endorsed HIV/AIDS conspiracy beliefs. Among men, stronger conspiracy beliefs were significantly associated with more negative condom attitudes and inconsistent condom use independent of selected sociodemographic characteristics, partner variables, sexually transmitted disease history, perceived risk, and psychosocial factors. In secondary follow-up analyses, men’s attitudes about condom use partially mediated the effects of HIV/AIDS conspiracy beliefs on condom use behavior. Conclusions: HIV/AIDS conspiracy beliefs are a barrier to HIV prevention among African Americans and may represent a facet of negative attitudes about condoms among black men. To counter such beliefs, government and public health entities need to work toward obtaining the trust of black communities by addressing current discrimination within the health care system as well as by acknowledging the origin of conspiracy beliefs in the context of historical discrimination.