Black communities' belief in “AIDS as genocide”☆A barrier to overcome for HIV prevention

Abstract

The belief that acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a form of genocide targeted at the black population is prevalent in black communities in the United States. Public health authorities are distrusted, in part because of the legacy of the Tuskegee Study of untreated syphilis, a perceived racist experiment. For effective interventions to prevent the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus in black communities, genocidal fears and beliefs must be addressed and black community leaders should be involved in planning and implementation.