SIDA: The Economic, Social, and Cultural Context of AIDS among Latinos

Abstract

Statistics on reported cases demonstrate clearly that AIDS is disproportionately prevalent among U.S. Latinos. To help clarify the meaning of this information, this article situates current epidemiological data within the sociocultural and socioeconomic contexts of Latinos living in the U.S. The purpose of this paper is to develop a fuller understanding of the Latino AIDS crisis by reviewing existing literature and new research findings on: (1) demographic, socioeconomic, and general health characteristics of the Latino population; (2) prevalence of the disease by Latino subgroup, geographic region, gender, age group, and route of transmission; (3) patterns of Latino knowledge, attitudes, and cultural understandings of the disease; and (4) AIDS risk behaviors among Latinos, including IV drug use, sexual patterns, and gender relations.