New York, New York

Community Profile: New York, New York

Community Characteristics

This group of young people in New York City was more knowledgeable than other groups. While most participants admitted that they knew some facts about AIDS, a few said they knew “a lot,” getting information from grade school, news and television. One participant cited her HIV-positive friend as a source of information. New York participants generally understood the difference between HIV and AIDS and correctly identified the vectors of transmission such as blood, semen and sharing needles. They were generally aware that HIV is not transmitted through casual contact, but still voiced concern about being around people with HIV/AIDS.

Participants said that condoms can be used to prevent contracting the disease and said that abstinence, monogamy and not sharing drug needles also prevented the disease. The group understood that some groups have a higher risk of contracting HIV, such as uneducated people, Latinos, homosexuals and low-income individuals.

The group did not emphasize personal responsibility as much as other groups, when considering why people are at risk for HIV. Rather, they said that a combination of bad luck, poor choices made under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and individual behavior contributed to HIV risk. However, when it came to solutions to preventing HIV, many participants were skeptical that prevention initiatives, such as education and condom distribution, would be effective in reducting risks because people will always take risks.

All participants understood that there is no vaccine for HIV. They were aware that treatment and medicine for the disease can be expensive. The group was distrustful of private pharmaceutical companies creating a cure for AIDS; as one individual put it, “[I]t’s more profitable to have AIDS than to not have AIDS.”

Participants discussed the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and, unlike the other groups, did not stress the idea of risky behavior as much. As one participant said, “I mean, it could be a bad choice. You just choose the wrong person and you make a bad choice to be with that person. It’s bad luck that you met the person. It’s a bad choice to be with that person.”

And through discussion, participants revealed that they contribute to this stigma to some degree. For example, most thought that people with HIV shouldn’t be allowed to work in the food service industry, with one man saying, “I just feel like it’s a greater risk if you’re involved with chopping and anything else, and just anything that could potentially do bodily harm to you.” They also believed that dentists who are HIV-positive should disclose their status.

The group mentioned that HIV-positive individuals would have a hard time getting a job, even though it’s illegal to discriminate on these grounds. They also admitted that HIV-positive individuals have a hard time with romantic relationships and that it may strain family relations. As one man said, “[N]ot everybody has that support from their family. Not everybody can go and get tested and have AIDS and go home and say, ’Look, I got tested and I have AIDS, and you’re my family and I want you to stand by me.’”

Furthermore, they discussed how it is hard to care for children, and some claimed that HIV-positive people must avoid contact with other sick people to avoid becoming very sick themselves. As one woman put it, “If I have a cold, I can’t go hang out with my girlfriend, because she can get sick and it’ll hurt her more than it hurts me. You have to maintain a distance between people that are sick.”

Widespread condom distribution was mentioned as a solution to the problem, along with education. Participants mentioned that condom use could be problematic, though, because not everyone uses them or they are sometimes embarrassed to ask for them.

The efficacy of education is undermined by young people not taking the education seriously and the fact that sexual activity is becoming prevalent among younger and younger age groups, so education may be too late. When it comes to education, the group dismissed TV campaigns as ineffective because it is too easy to ignore them and DVR devices make advertising less effective. As one man said, “You’ll [still] probably hook up with someone who, ’All right, this person looks healthy, I’m not going to wear a condom.’”

Participants said that social services such as free testing and free medicine should be available for those who need it. Ultimately, however, some in the group saw treatment as a personal responsibility, believing that there are some who can’t be helped. There was some ambivalence over whether or not the ultimate blame for the disease falls on individuals. Some definitely felt this way, while others put the blame on poor availability of condoms and ineffective education.

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