Introduction to the site
Many youth at risk of HIV infection have no doctor or other health care provider to turn to for advice. Young people are often under the false impression that they are tested for HIV during routine medical exams, and they assume that they would be notified if they tested positive. The largest gaps in medical services for youth are in substance use and mental health services, both of which are central to the needs of many HIV-infected and at-risk youth.
It is expected that half a million African youth ages 15 to 24 will die from AIDS by the year 2005. In African countries, half of all people acquire HIV before their 25th birthday and die by the time they are 35. HIV is usually contracted sexually among young people.
Certain parts of the youth community have been particularly hit hard. These include young women (particularly women of color), young men who have sex with men, and minority youth.
In a recent survey, 87 percent of young Americans said they do not believe that they are at risk for HIV infection. Research has shown that knowing one's positive HIV test results brings about significant reductions in risk behavior, avoiding transmission of the virus to others. One study estimated that only 11 percent of youth living with HIV in the United States receive adequate medical care.
A 1992 study of HIV-infected youth conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health revealed that one third of all adolescents who had been diagnosed with HIV had discovered their illness accidentally, through mandatory testing at the Job Corps, the military, or plasma centers. The other two thirds learned of their illness through emergency rooms and acute-care settings. These youth were already sick by the time of their diagnosis. As I reflect on this issue, I feel as if our youth are somehow "stuck in the middle." I know I felt that way! Youth are not children, yet not adults. Even clinics struggle with this issue when they have seen the person since they were children and the client is now entering teen years and early adulthood. How do you make that transition when it comes to HIV treatment, the clinic you go to and/or the resources you access?