WELCOME TO THE
Southern Science is an educational series built to disseminate information from Southern researchers and scientists, as well as community advocates addressing specific issues and breakthroughs pertaining to HIV science, COVID-19, and other relevant areas.
Each program will feature HIV science paired with how it’s used in the South. We’ll be partnering with different organizations and advocates to create accessible resources with the science AND the prevention tools necessary to end the HIV epidemic in the South.
Folks in the HIV field hear terms like PrEP, U=U, and social determinants of health all the time. However, for many of us outside healthcare and science (especially in the South), we don’t hear these terms often. Southern Science hopes to break down these terms as they are all related to the prevention of HIV and STI transmissions.
Everyone has a status and we want more people to understand their status, how to stay healthy, and keep their community safe and thriving. Our Science & Prevention resources dispel science myths and provide important information for you and your community
It’s SOUTHERN Science for a reason. According to the HIV in the U.S. Deep South Trends Report 2008–2019, recently published by SAC & the Center for Health Policies & Inequities Research at Duke University, “From 2008- 2019, the Deep South represented a majority of new HIV diagnoses in terms of both [the] number of new diagnoses and [the] percentage of all diagnoses in the US. In 2019, nearly 44% of all HIV diagnoses in the U.S. were in the Deep South, which comprises only 29% of the U.S. population.”
In Science & Place, explore the inequities of healthcare for communities impacted by HIV & COVID-19. Whether you’re living in a rural or urban environment, there are resources to get the information and healthcare you need.
“Racism is a public health issue.” This phrase has recently been announced by multiple health, education, and government institutions throughout the U.S. What does it mean? How can ideologies or someone’s housing status, or even their financial status lead to health?
The Science & Society resources delve into all of the ways science affects our day-to-day lives and communities. Find a new understanding of how even absorbing information by various media can make it more understandable and accessible.
WATCH | READ |
HIV Stigma Survey with GLAAD |
Everyone has a status & we want to amplify issues that relate to everyone impacted by HIV, COVID, or other relevant areas.
Community advocates will help address specific issues in their local communities to address the HIV science topic.
We seek to disseminate information with authority on the topic of HIV in the South regarding policy, training, & community.
Our partnership will —
Provide accessible content to Southerners impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Connect those living with HIV with HIV researchers and scientists.
Use advocacy and policy events to amplify HIV research and science.
Increase opportunities for people living with HIV to participate in regional and national conversations.
TEXAS
State Network:
Texas HIV/AIDS Coalition
Fact Sheets:
Impact of the Affordable Care Act in Texas
Texas High-Risk Pools: Lessons from the Past
SOUTH CAROLINA
NORTH CAROLINA
MISSISSIPPI
State Network:
Mississippi Positive Network
Fact Sheets:
Impact of the Affordable Care Act in Mississippi
Mississippi High-Risk Pools: Lessons from the Past
HIV and Ryan White in Mississippi
GEORGIA
State Network:
Georgia Equality
Fact Sheets:
Impact of the Affordable Care Act in Georgia
High-Risk Pools: Lessons from the Past
Georgia HIV Diagnoses 2015 Fact Sheet
Georgia HIV Death Rates 2015 Fact Sheet
2017 Recommendations:
60%
In 2015, black women accounted for 60% of new infections among women despite representing only 13% of the female population. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of these new diagnoses occurred in the South (CDC HIV Surveillance Report, Vol. 27, 2015), and the Deep South accounted for 48% of total new HIV diagnosis among black women in 2015.
2/3
Notably, two out of every three black gay or bisexual men who were diagnosed with HIV in 2015 lived in the South (CDC HIV Surveillance Report, Vol. 27, 2015), and 51% lived in the Deep South.
25%
Of the 25 MSAs with the highest levels of MSM living with an HIV diagnosis, 21 were located in Southern states.*
* JMIR Public Health and Surveillance — authored by researchers at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health
15%
In Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina, more than 15% of MSM were living with diagnosed HIV infections in 2012.*
* JMIR Public Health and Surveillance — authored by researchers at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health
44%
44% of all people living with HIV were diagnosed in the South.
51%
In 2015, the South accounted for more than one-half (51%) of all HIV diagnoses despite representing little more than one-third (37%) of the U.S. population*. That year, 8 of the 10 states with the highest rates of people newly diagnosed with HIV were in the South: District of Columbia, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, Texas, and South Carolina.
52%
The South is 52% of the Undiagnosed Infections in the U.S.* Consequently, fewer Southerners living with HIV receive timely medical care or treatment, fewer have their virus suppressed, and a disproportionate number are missing out on the opportunity to preserve their health and avoid transmitting HIV to their partners.
ALABAMA
State Network:
Alabama HIV/AIDS Policy Partners