In 2013, HVCS saw record growth in the number of clients served, due largely to the conversion to Health Homes and the continually expanding reach of our Regional Prevention Initiative. This updated infographic includes the new category of “Non-HIV Health Home Clients” now that we are able to provide Medicaid-reimbursable care management services to those without HIV. We also had 171 new HIV-positive clients within the time period.
One statistic that often surprises our supporters is that only 16% of our HIV-positive clients acquired HIV via gay/bi sexual contact (MSM). The majority of our clients say they acquired HIV by heterosexual contact. This number may be artificially inflated due to the continued stigma against homosexual sex and drug use; some of those clients in the heterosexual category may self-report a different risk factor for fear of judgment. This also helps to explain the high number of people in the “Other/Unknown” category.
African-Americans, Latinos and other racial minority groups are in the majority of HVCS’ clients; only 28% of our clients report themselves to be white. African-Americans make up only 11% of the Hudson Valley population but account for 39% of the area’s HIV cases and 36% of HVCS’ clients. HIV still continued to disproportionately affect communities of color.
Our client base also skews older: 52% of clients are above age 40 and 30% are above age 50. While the distribution of client ages somewhat mirrors the area’s demographic distribution, HIV-positive people typically go for years without seeking assistance from us due to the lengthy progression from HIV to AIDS. The days of rapid decline and death are long gone, but this means that our clients are typically older and face multiple health issues outside of their HIV status.
Tags: African-American, health, HIV