HIV Prevalence in Mississippi: A Serious Health Threat

This article discusses the high prevalence of HIV in Mississippi, particularly among young adults, and the factors contributing to its spread. It explores the social and cultural behaviors that serve as risk factors and provides recommendations for prevention. The article highlights the disproportionate impact on African Americans and the challenges faced in accessing testing and treatment.

Running head: HIV PREVALENCE 1
Hiv Prevalence
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Introduction
Hunan Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) persists to pose a serious national health threat in
the United States, especially in Mississippi. Whilst the southern United States population is just
37 percent of the nation’s total, this area is encountering 50 percent of new HIV prognosis
(Hrostowski & Camp, 2015). Particularly, Mississippi has the greatest proportion of new
infection and it is positioned as the ninth leading in the incidence of new HIV infections. In
2016, Mississippi had the eighth highest AIDS death incidence of any state in the United States
(Stopka et al., 2018). In 2017, the new HIV cases were highest among the young adults' age 20
to 29 years who represented 43 percent of newly detected cases.
Discussion
A person can only acquire HIV if only the bodily fluids of another person who already
has the virus get into contact with him or her. These bodily fluids that can pass HIV include
semen, vaginal fluids, and blood (Nambiar & Short, 2019). An individual who has HIV can
spread the virus whether he has symptoms or not. HIV is transmitted when a person has sexual
intercourse either vaginal, oral or anal sex with a person infected. Moreover, having contact with
the blood of an infected person spreads the virus. The blood-borne infection with HIV can
happen via blood transfusions, sharing injection instruments when using drugs, getting tattoos or
body piercing using unsterilized sharp objects like needles, splashing blood in the eyes as well as
accidental needle sticks (Dean, Wade & Roback, 2018).
Teenagers, as well as young adults who engage in certain behaviors, are at risk of
acquiring HIV. In connection to how the virus is transmitted, substance abuse and sex is risky
behavior that contributes to HIV infection. For instance, among the US high school students
surveyed in 2017, 19 percent had used drugs before previous sexual intercourse (Coble, Silver &

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Chhabra, 2017). Another risk behavior is numerous sex partners. The majority of the adolescents
do not have different sex partners at once but they may have many consistent partners which can,
in contrast, put them at greater peril of acquiring HIV. Low apprehension of risk is a behavior
amongst the teenagers and young adults where they feel no need of protecting themselves hence
risking themselves in getting the virus. Moreover, low rates of condom use put a greater
percentage of high school students at risk of getting HIV infection (Gaines, Quinn, Wang &
Powers, 2015).
Data about all ethnicities (black, white, Hispanics.etc), males and females, homosexuals and
heterosexuals.
As per the U.S census Bureau’s population approximations, Mississippi is 57 percent
white, 37 percent Blacks, 3 percent Hispanic and 3 percent population of Asian, Alaskan Native,
Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, Native American, and other races. The blacks are
disproportionately affected in each risk group accounting for 53 percent of new HIV prognosis in
the southern region of the United States in 2017 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
2016). Furthermore, a greater rate of Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) accounted for 41.9
percent of Mississippians living with HIV infection.
African American bisexual, gay along with men who have sex with men (MSM)
represent 6 out of 10 new HIV prognoses between blacks in the south. Among MSM, the number
of new prognoses in black MSM is closely twice that of Hispanic and white MSM (Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. 2016). While the figure of new HIV prognosis is same between
the whites and Hispanic, new diagnoses among Hispanic MSMS in the south has escalated 27
percent since 2012, whilst amongst white MSM new diagnoses in the south have declined 9
percent in the same duration (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2016).

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Amidst women, African American women are also disproportionately affected
representing 67 percent of new HIV prognosis amidst all women in the south especially
Mississippi. Few individuals with the infection in the south are aware that they have the infection
as compared with other United States regions (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
2016). However, individuals with infection due to HIV in the south receive timely medical care
and therapy, which is vital since taking HOV drugs as prescribed can make the amount of virus
in the body decreased.
Relevant social and cultural behaviors of the population
Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the United States (Liew 2016). The heavy HIV
burden in the south especially Mississippi is driven in part by socioeconomic actors like
unemployment as well as poverty. Poverty is strongly connected with health disparities in the
United States as low-income people due to unemployment have less access to health coverage
(Clark, Ommerborn, Coull, Pham & Haas, 2016). Particularly, poverty affects individuals with
HIV infection as higher rates of homelessness, drug dependence, as well as poor general health,
frequently combines with a lack of health care access to raise the infection risk and produce
significantly worse results in HIV-positive individuals, specifically in the South.
Cultural factors play a key role in driving the southern HIV pandemic. Stigma due to HIV
is pervasive in Mississippi and is always affiliated with the stigma around substance abuse and
poverty and may limit individuals’ willingness to reveal their HIV status or seek health services
for care and prevention (Perez-Brumer et al., 2018). Furthermore, stigma has been affiliated with
lower access to care because of perceived discrimination from health care professionals (Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. 2016).

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How cultural and social behaviors serve as risk and/or protective factors for the specific
population contributing to the control and/or occurrence of the health condition.
Substance abuse by teenagers and adolescents undermines a person's cognitive as well as
social skills hence making it very hard to take actions needed to protect themselves from HIV
infection. Furthermore, poverty poses a greater risk of HIV infection and its spread. In 2017, the
state cut the Mississippi department of health budget by 32 percent (Hrostowski & Pelts, 2018).
The department is now closing most public health services that are basic to meeting the health
needs of rural populations and the poor black Americans. Besides, the department threatened to
implement a fee of 25 dollars for an HIV test which is a lot and it will be utterly devastating to
doing any kind of work to curb new HIV infections, specifically for poor African Americans.
Homeless teenagers and young adults are among the most exposed in the community and
do not obtain the assistance they require to better their wellbeing as well as social problems.
Lack or poor housing and HIV are indistinctly connected as homelessness deteriorates HIV and
the homeless are twofold impacted by the infection (Bhunu, 2015). The pressures of daily needs
from a poor family, exposure to violence, and substance abuse to put up with psychological
health problems along with the stress of homelessness make the homeless and the badly sheltered
individuals exceptionally susceptible to HIV disease.
On the other hand, stigma is the most significant barrier to prevention, detection as well
as treatment of HIV in Mississippi. The conservative Mississippi legislature has an extensive
history of blocking trials to enable comprehensive, proper sex education in schools and to deliver
services to individuals with HIV (Hrostowski & Pelts, 2018). However, propagated by
legislations which criminalize perhaps subjecting another to HIV and the Protecting Freedom of

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Conscience from Government Discrimination Act, stigma keep teenagers and adolescents in the
closet and away from HIV related services.
Another cultural factor is internalized homophobia which occurs when an individual who
identifies as lesbian or gay involuntarily believes that the stigmas, as well as stereotypes they
encounter due to their sexual orientation, are true and as a consequence, turn the negative ideals
inward. The internalized homophobia is connected to low self-esteem as well as depression
amongst the gay, men and women which may result in an escalation in the risk behaviors of
HIV.
Adolescents with this behavior are more likely to use drugs as a coping mechanism to
avert the negative thoughts they have regarding their sexual orientation. The intravenous use of
drugs is affiliated with an increase in the risk of transmitting HIV infection and increased peril of
falling below the poverty line (Williams, 2018). Furthermore, the feeling of being undervalued
caused by internalized homophobia leads adolescent men partaking in unprotected sex and short
sexual experiences with multiple different partners increasing the risk of contracting HIV.
Identify positive and negative factors related to social and cultural behaviors.
Poverty is a negative social factor because it makes the children vulnerable to an
environment that exposes them to risks of acquiring HIV. Substance abuse is also a negative
factor which affects the ability of children and young adults to think clearly while engaging in
sexual acts. Moreover, homelessness puts children at risk of violence exposing them to the
dangers of getting HIV. On the side of cultural factors, internalized homophobia, as well as
stigma, is both negative factors that result in self-esteem hence a greater peril for adolescents to
get involved in substance abuse hence exposed to HIV infection. Consequently, no positive

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factor that contributes to the decline of HIV transmission amidst teenagers along with young
adults in Mississippi.
Recommendations
Application of antiretroviral universally is recommended to decline the transmission of
HIV for teenagers along with young adults living with the infection. Moreover, the use of pre-
exposure prophylaxis, condoms, and circumcision for people at the peril of infection is also
recommended (Hrostowski & Pelts, 2018). Due to the alarming increase of HIV between Black
men who have sex with men, the implementation of comprehensive sex education at an early
stage should be recommended to increase awareness of the risk. Also, this will promote the use
of condoms as a proven prevention approach.
Moreover, teenagers and young adults globally are entitled to easier access to HIV testing
and retesting. In that case, it can be recommended that testing places be made more youth-
friendly and encouraging new methods such as self-testing to be supervised concerning how well
they function for youths. Another recommendation is a screening of young adults especially the
high school students so that the spread of the infection is controlled in schools and treatment
made available in schools for the children affected (Van Handel, Kann, Olsen & Dietz, 2016).
Conclusion
Several of the Mississippi vulnerable people like African Americans and those living in
poverty are overlooked. Factors such as poverty, poor housing, unemployment, stigma as well as
low education impede their abilities to access HIV testing and their access to preventive therapy.
Mississippi lawmakers should consider legislation that supports prevention and treatment instead
of continuing to push forward legislation that perpetuates this public health problem. Reducing
the accessibility of public health services and facilities as well as increasing fees that deter access

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to HIV testing, prevention and treatment is a move that will exacerbate the problem.
Furthermore, investing in early education, screening, and prevention techniques like pre-
exposure prophylaxis amounts to a significant saving in public funds as well as people's lives.

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