Health Care Seeking for HIV/AIDS among South Asians in the United States

Abstract

Health-related behavior is a function of the sociocultural and environmental contexts in which it occurs. With South Asian immigrants, a comprehensive approach that focuses on community and individual factors may be more effective than an individualistic one. This article explores the factors that may influence HIV/AIDS-related health care seeking by South Asian immigrants to the United States. It focuses on South Asians from Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. The need to involve the community in any intervention process is discussed. An understanding of the determinants of HIV-related health care seeking and behavioral change factors can help social work practitioners develop effective interventions for and with South Asian immigrants.

Sex workers, fem queens, and cross-dressers: Differential marginalizations and HIV vulnerabilities among three ethnocultural male-to-female transgender communities in New York City

“…The Asian sex workers thus occupied a more privileged echelon within the Collective Black stratum, a position that correlated with moderate (as opposed to high) HIV risk. As we discussed earlier, even slight differences in the rank ordering of communities indicate a differential participation along a scale of graded 18 Immigrants, in fact, are often viewed in studies as being more vulnerable to HIV infection than nonimmigrants, although immigrants are usually compared only with non-immigrants in the same racial or ethnic population (Bhattacharya, 2004;Kang, Rapkin, Remien, Mellins, & Oh, 2005;Kang, Rapkin, Springer, & Kim, 2003). 19 Because this model appears to be at least partially based on the Brazilian model of pretos, pardos, and brancos, where the middle stratum of pardos comprises those who are partially of European descent, referring to this category as Honorary Whites seems apropos for this middle stratum in South American and Latin American contexts but is not necessarily applicable to U.S. contexts.…”

Risk Behavior Disclosure During HIV Test Counseling

“…The theory of social influence, used primarily in counseling research, proposes that it is not only the message given during the therapy, but the client's perception of the counselor that influences effectiveness. 20 Matched race/ ethnicity and gender of the patient and counselor may allow for a better understanding of behavior motivations 21 through shared cultural beliefs, 22 language, 23 and social experiences, as well as reduce fear of discrimination. 16 Additionally, client's perceptions of trustworthiness and level of knowledge of the counselor may also impact success of the counseling session.…”

Let’s Not Ignore a Growing HIV Problem for Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S.

“…As noted above, API females nationally (for whom heterosexual sex accounts for 81% of HIV/AIDS cases) 21 had a higher estimated annual percentage change in HIV/AIDS diagnosis rates compared to API males (for whom MSM transmission accounts for 67% of cases nationally). 21 High levels of HIV stigma in API communities have numerous consequences that affect HIV risk, including delays in HIV testing and care, 17,22 particularly among undocumented 16 and other foreign-born 23 APIs. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data show that nationally, APIs have significantly lower rates of being tested for HIV than the rest of the U.S. population, despite reporting similar rates of risk behavior.…”

“…21 Given the primacy of family, APIs may delay testing and care for fear of shaming or being abandoned by relatives because of implications of Binappropriate^behaviors (e.g., non-marital sex, homosexual sex, drug use). 9,17 Stigmatization results in marginalization and isolation of individuals living with HIV, poor mental health, 24 and lost opportunities for education and discussion regarding prevention and care. 16 Compared to other populations, APIs are uninformed regarding HIV, as there are limited linguistically and culturally appropriate sources for information regarding HIV.…”