HEADING OFF HIV
Study seeks to help women avoid infection
Since HIV/AIDS was first diagnosed among gay,
mostly white men more than 25 years ago, its primary
targets have changed. Today AIDS is the leading
cause of death for black women 25 to 34 years old and the
fourth leading cause for Hispanic women in the same age
group. Such grim statistics make it clear that African-
American and Hispanic women need interventions that can
help them lower their risk for HIV/AIDS.
Several culturally sensitive, highly effective HIV prevention
programs for these women have been developed;
they include RESPECT and SISTA for African-American
women and SEPA (developed by a team led by Dean Nilda
Peragallo) for Hispanic women. Yet their use among the
providers and clinics that serve such women is inconsistent.
Associate dean and associate professor Elias Vasquez,
Ph.D., N.P., F.A.A.N., F.A.A.N.P., and Nilson Mejia, B.S.N.
'06, a graduate student in the school's family nurse practitioner
program, are determined to find out why. "We want
to bring prevention strategies that have been proven to work
into clinical practice," Vasquez says. The two co-authored
an article about the issue that was published last year in
Hispanic Health Care International.
With Vasquez's guidance, Mejia has played an active
role in writing literature reviews, preparing and submitting
grant applications to the National Institute of Nursing
Research and the National Institute of Drug Abuse, and
authoring and co-authoring journal articles.
Mejia plans to make a presentation about the NIH study
at the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurses Association
Conference in San Antonio this spring. "As a young
nurse researcher," he says, "I'm gratified to think that our
work might benefit thousands of women at risk for HIV."
