Media Alert◆ Media Alert◆ Media Alert◆ Media Alert◆ Media Alert◆ Media Alert
October 31, 2005
A study to be published in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved (JHCPU) tomorrow shows that the likelihood of a person with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. dying from the disease depends upon their socioeconomic status (SES). People in the nationally representative sample with no accumulated wealth had an 89% greater likelihood of dying and those with less than a high school education had a 53% greater risk of dying than their counterparts with more wealth and education.
Dr. William Cunningham of UCLA and a team of prominent colleagues from UCLA and RAND Health conducted the study. They write, “The finding of markedly elevated relative risks of death for those with HIV infection and low SES is of particular concern given the disproportionate rates of HIV infection in these groups. Effective interventions are needed to improve outcomes for low SES groups with HIV infection.”
Previous research by the Centers for Disease Control as well as scholars in academic institutions, cited in the current paper, establishes the greater prevalence of HIV in minority and low SES groups.
The Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved (JHCPU) is published by Johns Hopkins University Press for Meharry Medical College. JHCPU releases three issues November 1, 2005, the regular issue and supplements sponsored by NIH (on the rise of HIV/AIDS in the African American community) and by the HBCU Research Network on Health Disparities.
For more information
Virginia Brennan, PhD, MA, Editor, JHCPU
800-669-1269
vbrennan@mmc.edu
www.factline.org
Also note: On Nov. 1, Jackie Judd, VP for Communications at the Kaiser Family Foundation interviews Dr. William Cunningham of UCLA, author of “The effect of socioeconomic status on the survival of people receiving care for HIV/AIDS in the U.S.,” an article in the November issue of JHCPU. See announcement at
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1536
