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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 2005)
B lack H istory M Page B2 onth .W special February 16, 2005 c o u e ra a e H ealth Study: Skewed AIDS Beliefs Carelessness with protection hurts minorities Bogus ideas about HIV/AIDS are costing the lives of many who go unprotected. A new study sug gests that many African Americans áre distrustful of the governm ent's role in the origin and treatment of HIV/AIDS - and that black men who have such beliefs also have more negative attitudes toward condoms and use them less consis tently. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development. “These ‘conspiracy theories’ have been out there for a while and are part o f a larger distrust of gov ernment, as well as of medical and public health institutions, by many African Americans," said Sheryl Thorburn, an associate professor of public health at Oregon State University and co-author of the study. The researchers c o n d u c te d a n a tional telephone sur vey with 5(X) ran domly selected Afri can Americans, ages 15-44. Included in the survey were ques tio n s about H IV / AIDS beliefs, atti tu d es to w ard condoms, and condom use. More than half (53.4 percent) ot those surveyed said they believe that there is a cure for AIDS, but that it is being withheld from the poor. Only 37 percent felt that the government was telling the truth about AIDS. Among the other findings were that 43.6 percent of African Ameri- cans surveyed felt that people who take new med.eines for HIV are human guinea pigs for the govern ment; 26.6 percent said AIDS was produced in a government labora tory; 48.2 percent be lieved that HIV is a man-made virus; and 15.2 percent said AIDS is a form of genocide against blacks. The study found that conspiracy beliefs were associated with negative attitudes to w ard co ndom s and with inconsistent condom use among African American men. The researchers did not find the same results for women in the survey. Researchers believe that HIV/ AIDS conspiracy beliefs stem from well-documented racial discrimina tion and disparities in health care - as well as past examples of unethi cal research, including the infa mous Tuskegee Syphilis Study in the mid-20th century, the authors say. In the Tuskegee study, which took place from 1932-72, the U.S. Public Health Service studied the effects o f untreated syphilis in nearly 400 low-income African American males from rural Alabama. The men were told they were being treated for "bad blood" and were denied treatment for the disease. “ Public health professionals need to acknow ledge conspiracy beliefs and work toward address ing them ,” Bogart said. "It is criti cal to have people from the com munity delivering m essages about HIV/AIDS transm ission and pre vention m ethods.” African Americans have a dis proportionately high rate of HIV and AIDS, the authors point out, and addressing barriers to preven tion is critical in changing that trend. Oregon Health Forum Honors Two Women Sen. Jackie W in ters, R-Salem and Sen. M argaret C arter, D- P o rtlan d , are being honored for their e f f o r ts to im p ro v e health care for O rego nians w ith health care achievem ent aw ards fro m th e O re g o n Health Forum, a state w ide health advocacy association. The group praised W inters for being an advocate for hum an services funding, for understanding o f the intricacies o f the D e p artm en t o f Hum an Services budget and for supporting senior Margaret Carter services. C a rte r, th e first A m erican-A m erican w om an in the house in 1984, was praised fo r h er se rv ic e on sta te health po licy com m ittees, creating a p e rm a n e n t s ta te Head Start program and being influential in founding the O r egon Youth C o nser v a tio n C o rp s. She has worked as a coun selor for w om en in p ris o n a n d w a s a c o u n s e lo r at P o rt land Com m unity C ol lege fo r 25 y e a rs, w here she founded the Portland C om m u nity C ollege Skills Center. Health Careers Explored at OHSU College students interested in health care profes sions are invited to attend a career conference spon sored by Oregon Health and Science University Center for Diversity and M ulticultural Affairs. The educational and interactive conference will give the students an opportunity to explore the many possibilities for their future career. The goal is to increase underrepresented minorities and disadvan taged students in the health and science professions and to increase prospective students’ aw areness of O H SU ’s educational programs, faculty, resources and cam pus life. The fifth annual Health, Science, & Engineering Careers Conference will be held on Friday, Feb. 25, from 9 a.m. to4p.m . at OHSU Marquam Hill Campus. This year’s key note speaker will be Dr. M arian M ehegan who serves as the U.S. Public H ealth Service Region X associate regional health adm in istrator for w om en’s health. For more inform ation or to register for this event, contact the OHSU C enter for D iversity and M ulticultural A ffairs by calling 503-494-5657, e-m ail at cedm a@ ohsu.edu or register online at w w w .ohsu.edu/academ ic/di- v ersity . Mentorships Available Share Your Black History Students Explore Medical Careers Ladarrius Tidmer, 16, plays the patient in an emergency department class on splinting broken bones. Providence Portland Medical Center Emergency Department technician Robert Eaglin (left) demonstrates the wrapping technique as Vancouver middle school student Chelsea Dalgord observes the procedure. About 30 students attended the recent career day event. High school juniors interested in health careers are encouraged to apply to the CURE Project, a sum m er p ro g ra m o f re se a rc h mentorship training for disadvan taged students at Oregon Health and Science University. The project, which begins June 27, will have students work in re search laboratories under the guid ance of scientists conducting can cer research for a minimum of eight weeks. Students who are accepted will be paid minimum wage and will re ceive bus passes for the duration of the summer project. Applications are due by Friday, Feb. 18, and are available online at w w w .ohsu.edu/academ ic7diver- sity or by calling 503 494-5657. A llied M ortgage nARino DREAFI5 of nonnowncRMiir cone true ! Stober M. 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