Kentucky: AIDS Has Grip on Blacks

Activists, health care professionals, patients and others came together in Louisville over the weekend for the state's 11th annual African American and Hispanic Leadership Conference on HIV/AIDS.

The epidemic's disproportionate impact on blacks and Hispanics in Kentucky was a key topic. Odalys Martin, a Detroit-based community liaison for Gilead Sciences, cited several barriers minorities face in the fight against AIDS. African Americans, she said, tend to have lower incomes and higher rates of poverty -- both of which are linked to inadequate access to care, and thus to poorer health. Language and cultural differences, together with a tendency to delay seeking care, are also factors.

Gayla Gilbert, a prevention specialist with Matthew 25 AIDS Services in Henderson, Ky., talked about avoiding sexual risks. "Is 10 minutes of pleasure going to give me a lifetime of pain? That's what you need to think about," she told audience members. Women must demand fidelity from men and be willing to break off relationships with unfaithful men, she said.

Gilbert also talked about SISTA -- Sisters Informing Sisters on Topics about AIDS -- that she facilitates. The CDC-funded initiative seeks to empower women, educate them about HIV/AIDS, and give them behavior-management skills.

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