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Why Prevention is Critical Across Health Issues: Using HIV Prevention as a Model
Cynthia A. Gomez, PhDDirector, Health Equity InitiativesSan Francisco State University
CAPS 5th ConferenceApril 21, 2006
Our Declining Health
• Over the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the U.S. with nearly 130 million adults being overweight or obese.
• There are 20.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 7% of the population, who have diabetes. While an estimated 14.6 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, 6.2 million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease.
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and 1 in 3 adult men and women has some form of cardiovascular disease.
Unintended Pregnancies
• Unintended pregnancy is a major public health and social problem in the United States.
• Nearly half of the six million pregnancies that occur among American women each year are unintended.
• As a result, American women experience 1.4 million unplanned births and 1.3 million abortions annually.
• They also have one of the highest rates of unintended pregnancy in the industrialized world.
Is Prevention Working?
0
250,000
500,000
750,000
1,000,000 Living with HIV/AIDS
Living with HIV
Living with AIDS
New HIV Cases
HIV Prevention Model
Is it time to expand?
Complexity of Determinants
Genetics
Child-rearing
Opportunities
Social ContextCulture
InterpersonalPhysiology
EconomicsEnvironment
Spiritual
Gender dynamics
Stigma
Current Strategies/Services
Prevention
• Outreach• Pamphlets• Counseling & Testing• Individual/Group
Programs• Media• Community Events
Care & Treatment
• Early Identification• Access to medication• Adherence Tools• Treatment Advocacy• Support Groups
New Directions
• HIV services – do we integrate with other health-related services?
• Do we lead new prevention efforts across health issues?
• Can we become more holistic without loosing our mission?
