HIV/AIDS in Asian and Pacific Islander Communities in the U.S.: A Review, Analysis, and Integration

Abstract

In the United States, HIV/AIDS is invisible in Asian and Pacific Islander (A/PI) communities even though it has affected them since 1981. As the AIDS crisis enters its second decade, A/PI communities continue to face a classic Catch-22: They receive modest, if any, funding for services, education, or research because there are relatively few reported Asian AIDS cases, but no one can financially, socially, and ethically afford to wait for an explosion of HIV infection in these communities. This article, using the AIDS Risk Reduction Model (ARRM) as an organizing framework, reviews, analyzes, and integrates the current state of knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors associated with HIV/AIDS among Asians and Pacific Islanders. Implications for community health education programs and future directions for research are discussed.

HIV/STD Stigmatization Fears as Health-Seeking Barriers in China

“…They concluded that this strategy was commonly adopted because stigma and moral blame within the Chinese culture are frequently extended to an entire family, rather than being limited to the individual alone (Kleinman et al, 1995). Further, stigmatization fears and desire to protect families from shame have been found as salient obstacles to HIV status disclosure given the collectivist nature of Asian culture (Chin and Kroesen, 1999;Yep, 1992Yep, /1993Yoshioka and Schustack, 2001). Other research in China has reported beliefs that promiscuous people are despised, to be avoided, and should be punished (Lee et al, 2003)-beliefs that have been found lead to discrimination that causes numerous distressing reactions in HIV carriers and AIDS patients (Gan and Liu, 2000).…”

HIV/AIDS in Asian and Pacific Islander Communities in the United States: A Follow-up Review and Analysis with Recommendations for Researchers and Practitioners

“…Yep, in his original review of HIV/AIDS in API communities, argued that the AIDS Risk Reduction Model (ARRM) was a useful conceptual framework for understanding health behaviors associated with HIV transmission and promoting efforts to eradicate such behaviors [1]. As proposed by Catania and colleagues [9,10], ARRM conceptualizes risk-reduction behavior as a fluid process.…”

“…Indeed, in recent years the incidence of AIDS is nationally increasing at a higher rate among API men who have sex with men (MSM) than among European American MSM [6,7]. In an attempt to understand the extent to which HIV/AIDS has affected API communities in the United States and with the belief that risk communication, education, and prevention strategies should be grounded in research, Yep reviewed and analyzed research findings on these communities some 10 years ago [1]. Since then, API HIV/AIDS has become more visible, and more recognized by U.S. funding agencies and within API communities (see, for example, [8]).…”

“…Since then, API HIV/AIDS has become more visible, and more recognized by U.S. funding agencies and within API communities (see, for example, [8]). Consequently, more research has been published in the decade since Yep's synthesis [1]. The purpose of this article is to provide an update on current research on HIV/AIDS in API communities in the United States and offer recommendations for further theoretical work and community interventions.…”

Book Review

“…As the health crisis of the century, HIV/AIDS has disproportionately aOEected ethnic (e.g., African American, Latino) and gender (e.g., women, transgenders) com± munities in this country (Dõ Â az, 1998 ;Elwood, 1999 ;Roth & F uller, 1998 ;Yep, 1992Yep, , 1993Yep & P ietri, 1999). In a far± reaching piece, Chachkes (1993) concurs :…”