HIV/AIDS Is Not Just an Urban Issue — June 5, 2019
Written by Scott, Writer & Clare Housing Resident
It is time to bring overlooked rural communities to the forefront of the battle against HIV/AIDS. There is a lack of awareness of the prevalence of HIV in rural. Because, historically, the HIV epidemic has been mostly in urban areas.
Rural areas identified twice as many challenges and barriers that complicate HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention in rural areas than their urban counterparts. Challenging barriers to care impact Persons Living with AIDS (PLWA), including lack of specialized medical services, HIV-related stigma, confidentiality concerns, lack of financial resources, and lack of transportation. Often, many of these factors intersect, amplifying the barriers to treatment and prevention.
Unique Social Aspects of Rural Communities
Stigma: Stigma in rural communities can have a widespread impact on both HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, including making individuals less willing to be tested and/or treated for HIV. Stigma can present barriers to care for population of high risk including sexual orientation and gender identity minorities, as well as intravenous drug users.
Privacy and lack of anonymity: Because rural communities are small and tend to have close-knit social networks, it can be difficult for individuals to privately seek HIV/AIDS services. Community members may see PLWA accessing these services, or may work at an organization where HIV testing or treatment services are provided. Combined with social stigma, the inability to privately access services may deter people from getting tested for HIV or seeking care for HIV/AIDS.When the PLWA seeks treatment they will often find barriers like finding a clinic that even has access to a doctor let alone clinic staff with an understanding of how to treat the PLWA.
Physical Isolation, Low Population Density, and Persistent Poverty
Lack of services: Rural communities may not be able to sustain important services, such as public transportation and homeless, unstable housing due to sparse populations. Lack of basic transportation services can make it difficult for PLWA in rural areas to access HIV/AIDS services. In addition, a lack of services can make it challenging for PLWA with low resources, such as PLWA who are homeless, and those who have no access to stable housing to engage in regular HIV care or adhere to an HIV treatment regime.
Cost of treatment: Cost of HIV treatment can be unaffordable for people who live on low incomes, especially if they are uninsured and unable to qualify for Medicaid or receiving funds from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Fund from their county.
The National HIV/AIDS Strategy has three primary goals:
Reducing the number of new infections. Increasing access to care and improving health outcomes for PLWHA. Reducing HIV-related health disparities. As a nation, we cannot successfully reach these goals unless we address health care needs, challenges and resource availability among rural residents living with HIV. With these barriers, many counties in the United States will not get to Zero new cases of HIV. Even though the rest of the country may reach that goal.
I wrote this piece to help someone somewhere even here in Minnesota, and I know there’s a newly diagnosed person who lives in a rural community understand that I can give them hope to know getting life-saving care is possible.