HIV/AIDS Prevention

"Use of Federal HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Resources by HIV-Infected and HIV-Affected Women," by Corey J. Brown and Cynthia G. Cadden of the HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service and the AIDS Clinical Trials Information Service, was the title of a poster presented at the National Conference on Women and HIV in Pasadena, California, in May.

The HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service (ATIS) and the AIDS Clinical Trials Information Service (ACTIS) provide HIV treatment and clinical trials information via toll-free telephone calls. Most callers are either HIV infected themselves or know someone who is. (Callers are not asked their HIV status, but reference specialists often are able to determine it based on "passive information," such as "My CD4+ count is..." or "My son was diagnosed....")

Passively collected statistics show that women make up more than half of the callers to ATIS (55 percent of 6,875); they request treatment information for other people more often than men do (71.8 percent) and much less often for themselves (23.9 percent of 757 HIV+ callers).

The ACTIS data reveal that nearly half of callers are women (48 percent of 6,760), and they also more frequently request information for family members and friends (66.5 percent) compared to men. Although women also request HIV clinical trials information for themselves (18.8 percent of 801 HIV+ callers), it is disproportionate to the rate of HIV infection among U.S. women.

These statistics show that women need more information targeted to them, both as consumers of HIV-related treatment information and as caregivers. ATIS and ACTIS continue to develop materials that address women's needs, such as the HIV/ AIDS Clinical Trials: Knowing Your Options video.

A second poster presentation was given by Beth Wescott, librarian at the Clearinghouse's Rockville Resource Center. This presentation focused on a general overview of CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse (NAC) services.

Clearinghouse staff also updated a number of publications prior to the conference, including the Guide to Selected HIV Services and Materials for Women (inventory no. B411) and its shorter version, Locating Basic Resources on Women and HIV/AIDS (inventory no. B410). Staff also revised two bibliographies in the Standard Search Series,HIV/AIDS and Women (inventory no. D274) and HIV/AIDS and Women Who Have Sex with Women (inventory no. D913).

CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse Web Site News

In May, ATIS developed an updated version of the Glossary of HIV/ AIDS-Related Terms, which now includes terms related to recent advances in the field of immunology and the use of combination therapy to manage HIV infection. An HTML version has been added to the ATIS web site at www.hivatis.org/glossary.

The Business Responds to AIDS/ Labor Responds to AIDS (BRTA/ LRTA) Manager's Kit and ACTIS HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials: Knowing Your Options videotape package now can be ordered directly through the BRTA/LRTA and ACTIS web sites. The order forms use the CyberCash Secure Internet Payment Service.

Several other new materials have been added to the various web sites:

• ATIS Fact Sheet, Understanding Viral Load, in English (www.hivatis.org/viral.html) and Spanish (www.hivatis.org/virspan.html).

• ATIS Booklet, HIV Protease Inhibitors & You (www.hivatis.org/protease).

• Business Responds to AIDS: Results from a National Survey in the United States (www.brta-lrta.org/brtaslide).

• The White House National AIDS Strategy Report (www.cdcnac.org/aidsinfo.html#report).

For additional information, contact the Clearinghouse at 800-458-5231, or access the following web sites:

• CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse -- www.cdcnac.org

• AIDS Clinical Trials Information Service (ACTIS) -- www.actis.org

• HIV/AIDS Treatment Information

• CDC's Business Responds to AIDS and Labor Respond to AIDS Programs (BRTA/LRTA) -- www.brta-lrta.org

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