When Dr. Rocco Richards, an Infectious Disease Physician at Legacy Community Health, meets patients for the first time, he’s often surprised by the persistence of HIV misconceptions, even in a population that’s benefited most from the advancement of HIV treatment. As a physician who specializes in the care and treatment of people living with HIV, he understands that breaking HIV stigmas can empower his patients to live better lives.
“Many times, I’m the first person to tell patients that undetectable means untransmittable, meaning it’s safe to be in a sexual relationship with their partner,” says Dr. Richards. He notes that these patients often include people diagnosed over 10 years ago who have been well controlled and virally suppressed since. “Talking to patients about where HIV care is today is incredibly valuable. A few minutes of my time explaining well-known medical realities can change their entire life.”
By StoryStudio on July 12, 2024
Sponsored by Legacy Community Health
6 Misconceptions Debunked
Breaking
HIV Stigmas:
-Dr. Rocco Richards, Infectious Disease Physician
Talking to patients about where HIV care is today is incredibly valuable. A few minutes of my time explaining well-known medical realities can change their entire life."
Harmful misconceptions about the HIV treatment PrEP continue to proliferate, according to Miguel Jacquez, a Health Prevention Specialist at AmistadesHTX, a program that provides free HIV testing, linkage to care, stigma reduction, and community building for Houston Area Latino/a/x men.
“There are many differences and generational gaps when having discussions due to individual belief,” says Jacquez. “Some individuals think that it can't happen to them. Others who often didn’t witness the deaths of the 80s and 90s don’t want to take PrEP medications for fear of being slut-shamed for taking these medications.”
PrEP is a great example of how the treatment of HIV has evolved exponentially since the early 1980s. Yet even as the lives of people living with HIV have changed dramatically for the better in the last 40 years, many of our stigmas about the disease have not. As part of Legacy Community Health, health experts like Dr. Richards and Miguel Jacquez are challenging those misconceptions through education, peer support, and elite, personalized care of those living with or at risk of HIV.
Legacy's Montrose Clinic
Houston, TX
Many still think of HIV as akin to terminal diagnosis. The reality is the complete opposite. When appropriately treated, HIV is no longer a fatal disease. Many studies, over decades, have shown that people living with HIV who are actively being treated with anti-retroviral therapy (ARTs) and who have suppressed viral loads can have a similar life expectancy as those without HIV.
“People can and are living healthy lives with HIV,” says Dr. Richards. “An HIV diagnosis is not the end.”
Debunking the 5 Biggest HIV Stigmas
1. HIV is not a fatal disease
Many people, including those living with HIV, still believe they cannot have children or live a healthy sexual life. This is not true. Patients taking ARTs where the virus is found to be undetectable in their blood cannot transmit the virus to others. This is called undetectable equals untransmittable or “U=U”. “U=U” also translates to pregnant mothers living with HIV (on ARTs and with undetectable virus). If a pregnant mother is U=U, she can in no way transmit the infection to child during pregnancy.
“Being U=U empowers people living with HIV to live healthy lives,” explains Dr. Richards. “They don’t have to be afraid of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners or their child during pregnancy.”
Click here to know your HIV care options.
Visit LegacyHIV.org for more information on scheduling an immediate appointment!
Know your HIV care options.
Visit LegacyHIV.org for more information on scheduling an immediate appointment!
On this episode we speak with Infectious Disease Physician Dr. Rocco Richards and Health Navigation Specialist Miguel Jacquez. They share their insights and experiences, helping us understand the current landscape of HIV care, how we can counteract stigma and misinformation, explain the role of peer navigation, and learn how we can help our community members living with HIV.
The Current Landscape Of HIV Care
Click here to know your HIV care options.
Visit LegacyHIV.org for more information on scheduling an immediate appointment!
2. People living with HIV can still have a family, children, and a healthy sexual life
3. HIV is not just a “gay” disease.
Anyone can get the virus regardless of sexual orientation. HIV is transmitted from the body fluids of an infected person with detectable virus load, including blood, breast milk, semen and vaginal fluids. (It is not spread by kisses, hugs or sharing food.) At high risk of acquiring HIV are those younger than age 25 and women. This is due to a range of factors, including that young adults are more likely to have several short term sexual partners and less access to healthcare.
“Many people then and today think that HIV is still a ‘gay disease,’” says Dr. Richards, “however the reality is if you are sexually active, you are at risk for HIV.”
This stigma is especially pervasive in the Latino/a/x community Miguel Jacquez serves. It’s rooted in the history of how poorly the HIV/AIDS epidemic was handled by the US government in the 1980s combined with how Christian leaders of that time preached about sexuality and HIV/AIDS as if it was God's way of punishment. These two forces combined to the stigmatize those infected by a disease that was yet to be understood that still affects how member so the Latino/a/x community think about HIV and treatments like PrEP today.
4. Taking medications like PrEP doesn’t mean you’re a slut, a sinner, or a bad person.
5. Debunking the “it can’t happen to me” misconception
In the Status Neutral discussion group, Jacques often hears some version of “it can’t happen to me.” Regardless of sexual preference or intervenes drug use, if you are sexually active, you’re at risk of HIV infection. PrEP greatly lowers that risk, but the feeling of invincibility often prevents those at risk from seeking treatment.
“People really do feel that It can't happen to them,” says Jacquez.
There’s power in the Status Neutral group, too. Discussing the misconceptions of invincibility and slut-shaming leads to debunking them, with impactful conclusions.
Misinformation abounds in today’s social media ecosphere. Memes and posts purporting to reveal “the truth” about effective treatments like PrEP are discouraging people to use it, thereby perpetuating the cycles of transmission. Often, these memes and videos don’t cite any sources and amount to little more than scare tactics, with harmful results.
“It’s especially harmful when I see ads that are discouraging of use of PrEP by mentioning side effects,” says Jacquez. “All medications have side effects. The truth is PrEP is an effective treatment to prevent HIV transmission.”
Ultimately, education and action are important in overcoming HIV stigmas and vital to patient empowerment and advocacy. Legacy Community Health is a standard bearer of HIV care, advocacy, and support in the Houston area. Learn more about HIV care and resources at www.legacycommunityhealth.org/hiv/
6. Be careful where you get your information
The truth is PrEP is an incredibly effective preventative treatment that reduces HIV infections from sexual exposure by 99% and 74% for exposure from injection drug use, according to the CDC. Still, many are hesitant to take PrEP—either because of religious or social stigmas—or because they have trouble accessing the treatment due to barriers like affordability, homelessness, language barriers and documentation status.
“Slut shaming individuals drives them away from taking advantage of a PrEP tool that can possibly save them from an HIV/AIDS status,” says Vasquez, who leads a Status Neutral group once a week for individuals who become members of the Amistades Familia. The goal of the group is to challenge misconceptions, discuss current topics, and share personal stories within the safety of group that doesn’t disclose sexual status.
The group also brings people from different generations together, a key component, says Jacquez.
“At one of our recent discussions, our youngest member made a statement about how ‘PrEP only allows us to become whores’,” Jacquez recalls. “The men in the group of an older generation who lived through the social injustices of the early HIV/AIDS pandemic were able to speak up on the history of HIV/AIDS, making this a great opportunity to converse and educate about today’s treatment options.”
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“Most of the discussions are very eye-opening on the topics of life, death, and how if we would have had PrEP technologies back in the 80s and 90s, imagine how many lives would have been saved.”
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Many still think of HIV as akin to terminal diagnosis. The reality is the complete opposite. When appropriately treated, HIV is no longer a fatal disease. Many studies, over decades, have shown that people living with HIV who are actively being treated with anti-retroviral therapy (ARTs) and who have suppressed viral loads can have a similar life expectancy as those without HIV.
“People can and are living healthy lives with HIV,” says Dr. Richards. “An HIV diagnosis is not the end.”
Debunking the 5 Biggest HIV Stigmas
Many people, including those living with HIV, still believe they cannot have children or live a healthy sexual life. This is not true. Patients taking ARTs where the virus is found to be undetectable in their blood cannot transmit the virus to others. This is called undetectable equals untransmittable or “U=U”. “U=U” also translates to pregnant mothers living with HIV (on ARTs and with undetectable virus). If a pregnant mother is U=U, she can in no way transmit the infection to child during pregnancy.
“Being U=U empowers people living with HIV to live healthy lives,” explains Dr. Richards. “They don’t have to be afraid of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners or their child during pregnancy.”
1. HIV is not a fatal disease
On this episode we speak with Infectious Disease Physician Dr. Rocco Richards and Health Navigation Specialist Miguel Jacquez. They share their insights and experiences, helping us understand the current landscape of HIV care, how we can counteract stigma and misinformation, explain the role of peer navigation, and learn how we can help our community members living with HIV.
The Current Landscape of HIV Care