Social determinants of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases among black women: implications for health equity.

Recent epidemiologic reports show that black women are at risk for HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In this report, we go beyond race and consider a number of social and economic trends that have changed the way many black women experience life. We discuss poverty, loss of status and support linked to declining marriage participation, and female-headed single-parent household structure-all of which influence sexual risks.

Identifying the impact of social determinants of health on disease rates using correlation analysis of area-based summary information.

Objectives: We developed a statistical tool that brings together standard, accessible, and well-understood analytic approaches and uses area-based information and other publicly available data to identify social determinants of health (SDH) that significantly affect the morbidity of a specific disease.

Methods: We specified AIDS as the disease of interest and used data from the American Community Survey and the National HIV Surveillance System. Morbidity and socioeconomic variables in the two data systems were linked through geographic areas that can be identified in both systems.

Summary of CDC consultation to address social determinants of health for prevention of disparities in HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis. December 9-10, 2008.

In December 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) convened a meeting of national public health partners to identify priorities for addressing social determinants of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and tuberculosis (TB). The consultants were divided into four working groups: (1) public health policy, (2) data systems, (3) agency partnerships and prevention capacity building, and (4) prevention research and evaluation. Groups focused on identifying top priorities; describing activities, methods, and metrics to implement priorities; and identifying partnerships and resources required to implement priorities.

Risk of alcohol-exposed pregnancies among low-income, illicit drug-using women.

Objectives: Poor women of childbearing age who use crack, cocaine, marijuana, and heroin may be at risk for having an alcohol-exposed pregnancy because of concurrent alcohol use. Women who use illicit drugs may not know the harmful effects of fetal alcohol exposure. Fetal alcohol exposure is a leading cause of developmental disabilities and mental retardation.

An HIV/AIDS crisis among African American women: a summary for prevention and care in the 21st century.

The meeting, HIV/AIDS and African American Women: A Consultation Supporting CDC's Heightened National Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis among African Americans, provided a forum to address gaps in prevention and HIV/AIDS infection for African American women. Health researchers, community-based organization leaders, and representatives from both healthcare and non-healthcare sectors took this opportunity to discuss and develop a variety of priorities and suggestions for HIV/AIDS prevention. Four focus areas were provided for meeting attendees to promote discussion and strategy development.

The use of epidemiologic and other data in selecting behavioral HIV prevention interventions for African American women.

We describe a "research to practice" method by which public health policymakers and HIV prevention service providers can integrate the findings of national surveillance with other sources of public health data. We suggest developing a comprehensive risk profile, based on multiple sources of data, to inform the selection and implementation of evidence- based behavioral interventions (EBIs) for African-American women.

Pediatricians' knowledge, training, and experience in the care of children with fetal alcohol syndrome.

Objectives: Prenatal exposure to alcohol interferes with fetal development and is the leading preventable cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities. The purpose of this study was to identify current knowledge, diagnosis, prevention, and intervention practices related to fetal alcohol syndrome and related conditions by members of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Methods: This study was developed collaboratively by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Report from the CDC. Physician and allied health professionals' training and fetal alcohol syndrome.

Maternal prenatal alcohol use is one of the leading preventable causes of birth defects and developmental disabilities. On the severe end of the spectrum of conditions related to drinking during pregnancy is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Physicians and other health practitioners play a critical role in diagnosing FAS and in screening women of childbearing age for alcohol use during pregnancy.

Crack cocaine use and adherence to antiretroviral treatment among HIV-infected black women.

Since the appearance of crack cocaine in the 1980s, unprecedented numbers of women have become addicted. A disproportionate number of female crack users are Black and poor. We analyzed interview data of HIV-infected women > or = 18 years of age reported to 12 health departments between July 1997 and December 2000 to ascertain if Black women reported crack use more than other HIV-infected women and to examine the relationship between crack use and antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence among Black women.