Boston University School of Social Work (SSW) researchers will join Tapestry Health Services in using a $2.5 million federal grant to study HIV services and prevention for Hispanics in western Massachusetts.

According to 2006 state data, Hispanics have nine times the infection rate of whites, and Latinos and Latinas are eight and 15 times likelier, respectively, to be infected through intravenous drug use (IDU). IDU accounts for 29 percent of the state's 24,000-26,000 HIV/AIDS cases.

La Voz (the voice) is Tapestry Health's HIV/AIDS treatment, education and substance abuse program targeting Latinos in greater Springfield, which has seven times the national HIV/AIDS infection rate, according to the program. The Health and Human Services grant will help La Voz's outreach efforts and will aid SSW researchers' study of the effectiveness of prevention services targeting Latinos. The group will ultimately issue policy recommendations.

"When looking at intravenous drug use, the use rates between the races seem to be the same," said Lena Lundgren, graduate instruction director and the study's principal investigator. "But the infection rate in the Latino community seems to be much higher. We want to use this money to find out why this is happening and how we can help prevent it."

"Intravenous drug use seems to have elevated over the past couple of years," said Angela Marrero of La Voz, so the group will try to reach those infected or at high-risk and attempt to reduce needle-sharing.

Of the grant, $500,000 will study the situation and the efficacy of aid programs, and $2 million will help maintain initiatives and improve prevention efforts.

"Women, in particular, seem to have an increasing rate of intravenous drug use and HIV infection," said Lundgren. "They are also less likely to come seek help or treatment. We're hoping that this grant will help us work better with [this subset of] the community."

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