The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has expressed alarm over an article in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that reported a startling 13% increase in HIV/AIDS cases among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States over the past 4 years.1 The article prompted AHF to renew its call for effective and sustained prevention efforts and a fast tracking of routine HIV testing nationwide. The JAMA article, which examines the upward trend among MSM in Western countries with a focus on the United States, attributes the increase in infection rates to a rise in unsafe sex due to, among other factors, reduced fear over the disease's potentially deadly consequences, lack of awareness of HIV status, and substance abuse issues, particularly the use of methamphetamines and alcohol. According to the article, almost 60% of men who were unaware of their infection considered themselves to be at low risk for HIV infection.

The JAMA article cited the need for social marketing campaigns that emphasize personal responsibility and cited the recent nationwide "HIV Stops with Me" campaign. A post-campaign survey of AHF's own most recent prevention initiative, the innovative "Stay Negative" social marketing campaign, demonstrated the campaign's remarkable success in reaching its target audience and achieving its objective to create an effective health education and risk reduction campaign to raise awareness among gay men in Los Angeles County that HIV infection is still a serious threat. Among the results of the "Stay Negative" campaign (created by Fraser Communications and funded in part by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS Programs and Policy) is the fact that it achieved high resonance and appeal among a broad audience, most notably across ethnic boundaries, with 8 in 10 African Americans and Latinos reporting that they related to the advertisements. Most importantly, the ads proved motivating and increased levels of intent to include HIV testing in respondents' overall health regimens. After viewing the advertisements, more than 55% of those surveyed considered including HIV testing in their overall healthcare routine. The level of intent was even higher for Latino and African American men (65% and 72%, respectively). This JAMA report comes on the heels of a dramatic decrease in global HIV numbers (likely because of new methods of data collection and projections) and an alarming recent increase in sexually transmitted diseases in the United States.

About AIDS Healthcare Foundation

The AHF is the largest nonprofit HIV/AIDS healthcare, research, prevention, and education provider, in the United States and the operator of California's largest alternative HIV testing program. It administers more than 15,000 tests per year. AHF currently provides treatment, care, and support services to more than 61,000 individuals in 19 countries worldwide in the United States, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, and Asia. Additional information is available at http://www.aidshealth.org.

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