Florida: AIDS Survey Set for Spring Hill

Health workers plan to survey sex workers and drug users in Spring Hill, a blighted community west of DeLand, this summer to gather data for use in developing AIDS prevention programs. The Volusia County effort begins at the end of this month and is made possible by a $27,250 federal Department of Health and Human Services grant.

The anonymous surveys will be conducted by community members who have contacts in the area in order to help get accurate, complete information, though that may still be difficult, said Kim Beyer, director of prevention services for the AIDS Coalition of Volusia and Flagler counties. "There may be some trust issues with the community," she said. "Some people may think this potentially could get them into trouble with the authorities."

The survey will especially target black and Hispanic women, said Beyer. The research will also involve focus groups, observations, one-on-one interviews, and brief polls to develop a sense of the women's health and sexual habits. Questions that will be asked include whether the women use protection during sex, need better access to protection, and have been screened for HIV.

"Most of the [AIDS] programming occurs on the east side of the county," said Beyer. "In the future, we want to provide more intervention and programs on the west side, and this is a good way to see what kind of resources we need." "You can't take what's been done in other communities and necessarily expect it to work in this particular environment," she said.

Similar surveys will also be taking place in Miami; Philadelphia; Detroit; Washington; El Paso, Texas; and Stone Mountain, Ga.

Back to other news for May 24, 2006