AIDS INFORMATION NEWSLETTER Michael Howe, MSLS, Editor AIDS Information Center VA Medical Center, San Francisco (415) 221-4810 ext 3305 March 10, 1995 Women and HIV Infection (Part XXI) Audiovisual Information TI The Forgotten People: Latinas With AIDS. YR 1990. AV CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse P.O. Box 6003 Rockville, MD 20849-6003. (800) 458-5231. CDC NAC Inventory no. V695 (English); CDC NAC Inventory no. V696 (Spanish); Distribution fee applies. National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations Community HIV and AIDS Technical Assistance Network 1501 16th St., NW. Washington, DC 20036-1401. (202) 387-5000. AB This videorecording tells the stories of three Hispanic women with Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). According to statistics presented at the beginning of the videorecording, three-quarters of all women with AIDS are Black or Hispanic. One-half of them contracted Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through shared needles; one-third contracted it from one sex partner who used drugs or who had sex with other men. The first story told in the videorecording is that of Paula, a 33-year-old Chicago woman who shot heroin for 14 years and worked as a sex worker to support her habit. She tested HIV-positive three years ago, and has been drug-free for one year. Her two older sisters, who shared needles with her, have also tested HIV-positive. The three sisters receive a great deal of support from their 62-year-old mother, Luisa, who has already lost five children to death on the streets, and from their father, Luis, a recovering alcoholic. Some of the sisters' children know of their diagnosis, and some do not. The second story shows what happened to a young Mexican nurse who immigrated to this country and married an Intravenous drug user (IVDU) with no knowledge of his habits. Now, both husband and wife, as well as their 2-year-old son, have AIDS. Both adults were initially rejected by their families, and the child could not play normally with his small cousins. The final story is that of Damaris, 33, a recovered heroin addict who works in outreach programs to help other Hispanic women from becoming HIV-infected. TI HIV in Women: Conference Held in Minneapolis, MN, October 15 - 17, 1993. YR 1993. AV HealthSpan 2810 57th Ave. N., Ste. 425 Minneapolis, MN 55430. (612) 574-7895. AB This series of four videos covers educational sessions on HIV in women, given for health-care workers in Minnesota. The first topic discussed explores the relationship between HIV and human papilloma virus, causative agent of cervical cancer. Basic manifestations of HIV disease in women, and the ways in which they differ from symptoms in men, are described next. The need for gender-specific tests, treatments, and AIDS-defining conditions for women are examined. The conference explores transmission issues and women, especially heterosexual transmission; pregnancy; perinatal transmission; counseling women who might become pregnant; and substance abuse. It stresses that HIV in women cannot be successfully treated without involvement of the male partner, and also that transmission through substance abuse should be considered in the context of "sex for drugs" that often occurs. Dr. Patty Wetzel, a physician who became HIV-positive through an accidental needlestick, shares her experiences during and after the exposure. Workplace issues and the health care worker are discussed, including mandatory testing, privacy, universal precautions, disclosure, and written workplace policies. The conference concludes with a panel discussion of ethical concerns, legal issues, State statues, partner notification, civil and criminal liabilities, the right to health care, and the health care worker's duty to treat. TI HIV Infection in Childbearing Years. YR 1989. AV Hospital Satellite Network 2020 Ave. of the Stars Ste. 620 Los Angeles, CA 90067. (310) 277-6710. AB This videorecording focuses on the role of nurses in providing information to women about Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission and prevention, and Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). In order to provide this information effectively, nurses need to learn to identify high-risk women, to take sexual histories without feeling uncomfortable, and to be nonjudgmental about women and their lifestyles. It is also important to provide sensitive counseling to women who are HIV-positive persons, especially if they are also pregnant. TI I'm Not Afraid of Me: The Barbara Bryon Story. YR 1991. AV Alaska Native Health Board 1345 Rudakot Cir., Ste. 206 Anchorage, AK 99508. (907) 337-0028. AB This videorecording tells the story of Alaska Native Barbara Bryon and her 6-year-old daughter, Doriann. Both have Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, but show no symptoms. Family members talk of their love and support, while Barbara tells how she became infected through a heterosexual affair before Doriann was born. She discusses their treatment with azidothymidine (AZT) and their determination to maintain a positive attitude and to beat Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Barbara tells of her early days of depression and denial following her diagnosis, and how she overcame both her own feelings and the fears of her friends. Throughout the videorecording, the need for caring and understanding is emphasized. TI (In) Visible Women. YR 1991. AV Fear of Disclosure Project 800 Riverside Dr., 2E New York, NY 10032-7404. (212) 923-1289. AB This videorecording features three HIV-positive women discussing their feelings about themselves, their illness, and others' reactions to them. The three -- a Latina, a Caucasian, and a Black -- share a positive attitude, and recount how their self-confidence has been increased through activism and speaking out about HIV. Two credit their involvement in the AIDS activist group ACT UP with giving them a sense of empowerment, accomplishment, and unity with others affected by HIV/AIDS. The camera follows the first woman, Marina, as she graduates from a course on HIV education and mobilization sponsored by a task force on women against AIDS, counsels women in a shelter for homeless people with AIDS, and participates in a demonstration in the offices of a local politician. Other graduates of the course, themselves either HIV-positive or relatives of persons with AIDS, appear briefly to proclaim how their efforts in the community will help take the struggle forward. Jeannie tells how her family initially felt shame over her illness, but now are proud of her as she travels around the country making speeches protesting the lack of AIDS resources for women. Irma refers to the negative experiences of incarcerated HIV-positive women, particularly the lack of confidentiality they are afforded, but shows how she herself finds strength and joy through dancing. TI It Won't Happen to Me. YR 1992. AV Kaiser Permanente Audio Visual Services 825 Colorado Blvd., Ste. 319 Los Angeles, CA 90041. (213) 259-4776. Program no. 5444. AB This videorecording portrays a young woman named Kim who contracts HIV/AIDS through heterosexual contact. She shares her story and discusses her symptoms, as well as her child's. There are many stages she went through, including learning to cope, finding hope, and most importantly how to get through to others. TI The Physical Examination of the Female Patient. YR 1992. AV University of Washington Seattle STD Prevention / Training Center 1001 Broadway, Ste. 101 Seattle, WA 98122. (206) 720-4222. AB This videorecording provides the clinician with the information and appropriate examination techniques to perform a pelvic exam on a female patient. In a step-by-step fashion, it shows the clinician how to examine skin, mouth, internal and external genitalia, and also how to take specimens for laboratory analysis for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV. Proper handling of specimens and slides is illustrated. The video concludes with dialogue that illustrates how the clinician can make the patient feel comfortable and elicit a sexual history. (This material contains sexually explicit language and/or pictorials that may offend some readers/viewers.) TI A Test of a Nation: Women, Children, Families and AIDS. YR c 1990. AV Gay Men's Health Crisis 129 W. 20th St. New York, NY 10011-3629. (212) 337-3553. AB In this videorecording, health-care professionals, community workers, women infected with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and women with Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) maintain that these women and their children are not sufficiently cared for by the health, educational, and legal profession. Voiceovers by patients emphasize the negative impact of certain health policies, particularly those regarding reproductive rights, socioeconomic conditions affecting most women with AIDS, and differences between family-unit compositions. They describe efforts made on their behalf by community organizations. Adolescent females discuss their attitudes towards sexual relations and safer sexual behavior. (This material contains sexually explicit language and/or pictorials that may offend some readers/viewers.) TI The Time to Know: Women, Children & AIDS. YR 1991. AV Eastern Maine AIDS Network P.O. Box 2038 Bangor, ME 04402-2038. (207) 990-3626. AB This videorecording uses interviews with five women who have Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to warn viewers that women who practice risky behavior can become infected with the Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Through their personal stories, the videorecording addresses issues of denial, deciding to have children, caring for ill children, planning funerals, and facing death. TI Women & AIDS. YR 1988. AV Gay Men's Health Crisis 129 W. 20th St. New York, NY 10011-3629. (212) 337-3553. AB This videorecording deals with women and Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The survival rate for females after diagnosis with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is much shorter than that for men, because women are usually the caregivers and tend to ignore their own health. Many are caring for a husband and/or a child with AIDS. They are more frequently unable to afford care than men. Heterosexual transmission is increasing, especially among the sexual partners of Intravenous drug users (IVDU's). Black and Hispanic women are the hardest hit. Various education techniques will be necessary to change behavior because of the cultural factors affecting these women. Condom use is a special problem to overcome. Safer sexual conduct for lesbians is demonstrated. IV-needle sharing is discussed. The need for experimental treatment programs for women is analyzed. (This material contains sexually explicit language and/or pictorials that may offend some readers/viewers.) TI Women & AIDS: An End to Business as Usual. YR 1991. AV Cablevision of Boston 179 Amory St. Brookline, MA 02146. (617) 731-6127. AB This videorecording features six speeches given at a conference on Women and AIDS held in Boston, MA, in 1991. The first speaker, Gloria Weissman of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, says there are two barriers to effective intervention to women: Counselors wait for clients to come to their door, and the prevailing feeling is that treatment works best with those who are motivated to get it. She says these assumptions are wrong, that the population is hard to reach because no one ever tried. She gives statistics on AIDS intervention programs that have proved them wrong, and speaks of new strategies for outreach in beauty parlors, factories, and bars. Hortensia Amaro of the Latino Health Network in Boston addresses the topics of early diagnosis and prevention. She says that most women with AIDS are found through drug-abuse treatment programs, not through pregnancy clinics or sites where the test for Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibodies is performed. She says that women fear losing custody of their children, and that health-care providers harbor prejudicial attitudes toward pregnant women. She discusses the opportunistic infections that affect women and how they differ from those that affect men. Amaro points out that most research is based on studies performed on males. The third speaker is Dazon Dixon of Sisterlove, a community outreach program in Atlanta. She says they attempt to put acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the big picture through the use of safer sex parties. At these events, women can talk to other women on an informal basis. She says that women are seen as vectors of transmission to children, and not recognized as people at risk. Lee Swislow, a nurse at Cambridge Hospital, tells of her experiences in caring for Persons with AIDS (PWA's). She says that at Boston Hospital, they had an adult clinic and a children's clinic, and that mainly men came to the adult clinic. Her staff would hear from the pediatric clinic that women were bringing in their children and that the women looked ill, but that they wouldn't get treatment for themselves. She then tells of the difference after she switched to Cambridge, where a small program followed a handful of patients and took a personal approach to care. Cathryn Samples, from the Martha Eliot Health Center in Boston, talks about work with minority women. She explains Project Protection, a community-based health education program designed to enhance services to Black and Hispanic women, particularly adolescents. She says that two-thirds of her clients come seeking condoms. Finally, Joyce Dennison talks about the work done by the Health Education Resource Organization in Baltimore. She explains the Young Adult AIDS Prevention Project (YAAPP), a Centers for Disease Control-funded intervention and education program targeted at adolescents and young adults. The team members approach adolescents on the streets as part of their intervention strategy. TI Women & AIDS: Keeping Women in Focus. YR 1991. AV Cablevision of Boston 179 Amory St. Brookline, MA 02146. (617) 731-6127. AB This videorecording presents a montage of speeches, personal interviews, and other vignettes from the 1991 Women and AIDS Conference held in Boston, MA. An introductory segement says that Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among women is rising at 29 percent per year, while infection among men rises 18 percent. In the United States, 80,000 women of childbearing age are infected. The two-day conference featured 900 participants and more than 85 workshops and programs. Speakers shown on the tape include Ellen Koteen of the Women and AIDS Network, who points out that women will attend to the health care needs of their families and delay getting treatment for themselves. She says she has found this very evident in the Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic. She says that women average 14 weeks of life from diagnosis to death, while men average a year. Gloria Weissman of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) says the fact that women would be vulnerable to the AIDS epidemic was apparent early on. But women have remained isolated and stigmatized, welcome only as subjects for research and labelled as vectors for transmission. She speaks on the difficulties involved in women's negotiating with their partners for condom use, since they are engaged in changing behavior other than their own. Elizabeth Avedon, who works in women's support groups, says all women need to understand that they are at risk. She speaks of women who were married for many years and who felt betrayed when they learned of their husbands' infidelity through HIV infection. The videorecording also features interviews with several women with AIDS. The two most prominently featured are Wendy Bennet-Alder, a member of the AIDS ACTION Committee, and Sonya Heard. Both became infected through drug use. Bennet-Alder says she is glad to see more women with AIDS speaking on the need for recognition. She relates her personal story, saying she has been speaking out for three years. Heard tells her story of finding out about her infection while pregnant. Her baby subsequently tested HIV-negative; meanwhile, she has lived free of drug abuse and with HIV for five years. TI Women and AIDS: A Survival Kit. YR 1988. AV University of California Berkeley Center for Media and Independent Living 2176 Shattuick Ave. Berkeley, CA 94704. (510) 642-0460. Inventory no. 37794. AB This videorecording examines the Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and the risk of infection for heterosexual females. Intravenous drug use, perinatal, and other forms of Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission are discussed. The psychosocial factors of relationships between men and women are illustrated through multiethnic, multiracial vignettes focusing upon open communication about condom use and safer sexual conduct. HIV prevention is encouraged through attitude modification and women's health education programs. TI Women and AIDS: Deadly Denial. YR c 1991. AV Indiana Board of Health 1330 W. Michigan St. Indianapolis, IN 46206-1964. (317) 232-4365. AB This videorecording warns women that they are not immune to Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It points out that in 1982, there were only 82 known cases of AIDS among women, but by 1991, that number had soared to 18,000; approximately 1 in 10 of these women became infected with the Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through intercourse with a bisexual partner. The videorecording points out 72 percent of these women are Injecting drug users (IDU's), or the sex partner of an IDU; 52 percent are Black, and 20 percent, Hispanic. Stil, it says, many women are engaging in casual sexual intercourse and one-night stands because they don't realize the risk. The videorecording uses a number of women who tell their stories, and who talk about how they deal with infection. It explores the connection between drug abuse and AIDS, pointing out that a number of women will exchange sex for money to buy drugs. It examines the risk of infection for sex workers, adolescents, and lesbians. Women are warned that it may take 10 years for symptoms to appear, and that women may have different symptoms than men do. The videorecording warns women that they may pass the virus on during pregnancy; it says that 30 percent of babies born to infected women are themselves infected. Viewers are encouraged to take the HIV-antibody test before becoming pregnant. It explains safer sex and condom use, and looks at cultural barriers to AIDS education. TI Women and HIV: Pregnancy and Beyond. YR 1991. AV New York University New York - Caribe AIDS / SIDA AIDS Mental Health Project 532 Shimkin Hall 50 W. 4th St. New York, NY 10003. (212) 998-5330. AB This videotape is an educational program for health care providers on women who are pregnant and HIV positive. Practitioners from three inner city New York, NY, hospitals discuss their experiences, present approaches to working with HIV-infected women, and provide strategies for working with their colleagues in the health delivery system. Eight areas of concern are presented in the videotape: patient trust, drug abuse and sexual practices, HIV antibody testing, social work services, elective termination, drug abuse rehabilitation, medical management, and postnatal considerations. A discussion guide is included.