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A new government proposal calls for AIDS. … Most cases of HIV infection occur in younger people, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 19 percent of all U.S. residents with AIDS were age 50 or older. … The Health and Human Services Department said coverage would extend to Medicare beneficiaries who are at increased risk for the infection, including women who are pregnant, as well as beneficiaries of any age who voluntarily request the service” (9/9).

This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

HIV and sexual health charity, Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) is calling for people in Swindon to get involved in World AIDS Day (December 1) this year, either by attending an event, making a donation to support local HIV services, or wearing a red ribbon to raise awareness.

World AIDS Day, which has been running every December since 1988, is dedicated to raising awareness of HIV and AIDS. In the UK alone, over 80,000 people are living with HIV and over 7,000 are diagnosed every year.

Steve Jones, Regional Manager for THT in the South West, said: “World AIDS Day is one of the most important events in THT’s calendar. Currently in the UK one in four people with HIV don’t know they have it, so it’s vital that we continue to raise awareness. We hope local people will get involved in some way, either by attending an event, making a donation, or just wearing a red ribbon.”

Source
Terrence Higgins Trust

Kaiser Permanente researchers found no disparities by race or ethnicity in risk of AIDS and death among HIV-infected patients in a setting of similar access to care. This is despite lower Anti-Retrovir al Therapy adherence among Hispanics and African-Americans compared to whites. Researchers also saw a trend toward better outcomes for Hispanics.

The study, which appears online in The Journal of General Internal Medicine, is one of the largest to date to evaluate racial and ethnic differences in clinical outcomes among HIV-infected patients.

“When it comes to HIV among Kaiser Permanente members, it appears that access to care is the key to eliminating racial and ethnic disparities,” said the study’s lead author Michael Silverberg, a researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. He explained that equal access may likely improve prevention and also encourage early treatment.

Kaiser Permanente is the largest private provider of HIV care in the United States. Dr. Silverberg said that certain aspects of Kaiser Permanente care may reduce differences in outcomes among racial/ethnic groups in that most patients have medical insurance coverage and their HIV care is guided by the principles of integrated, chronic condition management and multi-disciplinary HIV specialty care. Another advantage of this setting is Kaiser Permanente’s large HIV registry, which has historical data on more than 17,000 patients, including a substantial number of racial/ethnic minorities.

This study is among the first to include a large number of Hispanic patients and comprehensively account for other factors — such as socioeconomic status, HIV disease stage and ART adherence — that may contribute to racial/ethnic disparities, according to the investigators. Hispanics had a statistically significant 34 percent survival benefit compared with whites and a 42 percent survival benefit compared with blacks. However, no statistically significant differences for racial/ethnic groups were observed after adjustment for demographics, socioeconomic status and clinical factors.

The study was a retrospective observational cohort study from 1996 to 2005 in Kaiser Permanente, an integrated delivery system with more than 3 million members in Northern California. Researchers studied 3,106 whites, 919 Blacks and 661 Hispanics infected with HIV and looked at differences in ART adherence, new AIDS events and all-cause mortality.

“This observation of reduced mortality in HIV-infected Hispanics is somewhat surprising giving the observed lower adherence rates, reduced immunological responses and lower census-based socioeconomic status compared to whites,” said Silverberg. Hispanics had particularly low numbers of cardiovascular and cancer-related deaths. He explained that this phenomenon, also called the Hispanic Paradox, may occur because of differences in diet, genetics and extended family support.

This study is part of Kaiser Permanente’s larger ongoing work to end health disparities by providing equitable access and care to its 8.6 million members, by targeting resources to areas in need in communities across the United States, by investing in disparities research, and by implementing strategies that support equity in health nationwide, including universal health coverage.

Additional investigators on the study include Wendy Leyden, MPH, Charles P. Quesenberry, Jr., Ph.D., and Michael A. Horberg, MD, MAS, all affiliated with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif. The research was funded by a Community Benefit grant from Kaiser Permanente Northern California, and a career development award from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Source:
Emily Schwartz

Golin/Harris International

The National AIDS Fund (NAF) praised the decision by a House subcommittee to remove language from an appropriations bill that for the past twenty years has banned the use of federal funds for syringe exchange programs (SEPs).

Since 1988, the U.S. government has prevented local and state public health authorities from using federal funds for SEPs, which studies have shown to be effective in reducing HIV infection rates among injection drug users (IDUs). On Friday, the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies decided to remove the language that has blocked the funding.

“With Friday’s decision, the full Congress now has the opportunity to base health policy on science-based evidence that has clearly illustrated that syringe exchange programs are effective in reducing HIV incidence and do not promote drug use,” said Michael Rhein, Director of Programs at NAF. “The National AIDS Fund has been a longtime supporter of syringe exchange as a means to prevent the transmission of HIV and other bloodborne diseases.”

NAF is a founding partner of the Syringe Access Fund, a national grant-making collaboration of private funders, created in 2004. Beginning in 2009, the National AIDS Fund will administer the Syringe Access Fund, which has granted over $6 million in funds to support access to sterile syringes.

U.S. Rep. David Obey (D-WI), chairman of the subcommittee and also chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said, “Scientific studies have documented that needle exchange programs, when implemented as part of a comprehensive prevention strategy, are an effective public health intervention for reducing AIDS/HIV infections and do not promote drug use. The judgment we make is that it is time to lift this ban and let State and local jurisdictions determine if they want to pursue this approach.”

“There have been numerous government-sponsored reviews of the research on syringe exchange. Those studies concluded that syringe availability programs ‘are an effective public health intervention that reduces the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C and does not encourage the use of illegal drugs,’” says the National AIDS Fund’s President & CEO, Kandy Ferree. “In fact, syringe access programs are often the gateway for getting hard-to-reach individuals into HIV testing and treatment services.”

IDUs represent 20% of the more than 1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and the majority of the 3.2 million Americans living with hepatitis C infection. Injection drug use accounts for over 14%, according to the Centers for Disease Control, of the 56,000 new HIV infections in the U.S. every year-or nearly 9,000 people.

Source
The National AIDS Fund