Impact of HIV/AIDS on women in the United States: Challenges of primary and secondary prevention

Abstract

Women are the fastest growing group in the United States being infected with HIV Although the majority of people with AIDS in the United States are men, AIDS is increasing almost four times as fast among women. Yet women remain understudied, underreported, and underdiagnosed. There are insufficient resources and services targeting the primary prevention needs of women, so women keep getting infected. Secondary prevention efforts for women infected with HIV have been stymied, and nearly a decade has been lost that might have been devoted to early detection of HIV infection in women, documentation of the natural history of HIV in women, exploration of their health needs, expansion of gender‐specific services, and development of interventions to improve quality and length of life for HIV‐positive women. In this article, I analyze the impact of HIV/AIDS on women in the United States and pose challenges for primary and secondary prevention.