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Oregon officials plan to stop
funding an HIV/AIDS hotline when the contract expires in March 2013. Since
1987, the hotline—which is run by Cascade AIDS Project (CAP)—has connected
callers with testing and HIV/AIDS services, but state officials believe there
are better ways to encourage its citizens to get tested for HIV/AIDS than
spending $75,000 for a hotline.
Oregon lags behind the nation in
early HIV/AIDS diagnosis. Nationally, approximately 32 percent of HIV diagnoses
are made at a late stage, when the patient already has AIDS or develops it
within 12 months of the diagnosis. Oregon state records show that 37 percent of
diagnoses are late stage. This means that the individual has been living with
the disease for 7–10 years before getting tested and may have been transmitting
it to partners. There are 5,213 persons living with HIV/AIDS in Oregon, and 275
new infections are diagnosed each year. The Oregon Health Authority estimates
1,200 persons with HIV do not know their status.
Kim Toevs, manager for HIV, STD, and
adolescent health in Multnomah County, argues that it is the wrong time to end
the hotline, now that testing has become a key area of focus. State officials
maintain that they would keep funding the hotline if it were making a big
difference. According to Ruth Helsley, Oregon Health Authority’s HIV prevention
program manager, the state examines its expenses to ensure that everything it
funds is cost-effective and is best for public health. She explained that CAP
was paid $75,000 in 2011 to operate the hotline, with an additional $10,000 for
a public information campaign. With a drop in call numbers from 1994, when the
hotline received 10,219 calls, to 882 in 2011, and even fewer during this
year—the cost of a call is now $100. Also, Helsley noted that data from the
hotline is not correlating with increased testing numbers. She emphasized that
the Oregon health authority wants to better target at-risk populations by
funding HIV testing, condom distribution, and needle exchanges and by linking
people who test positive to health-care providers.
Michael Anderson-Nathe, director of
education and prevention at CAP, disputes the state’s math, which he said
excludes 11,000 visitors to the hotline’s website in the past two years, and
states that callers to the hotline can be connected with testing services,
clinics, or counseling. He explains that without the state contract, he will
have to reduce staff as well as eliminate live chat and updated information on
the website. Anderson-Nathe believes that AIDS prevention and treatment is
losing steam just when social services knows what works and that a lack of political
will and resources is retarding progress.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
