Groups raise health awareness
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National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is Tuesday, March 10, and the wonderful women at the Center for Prevention and Wellness at Salish Kootenai College are holding an event in honor of the day, one day prior.
On Monday, March 9 they will sponsor special showings of “Shana Cozad’s Story,” at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. in the Late Louie Caye Sr. building on the SKC campus.
The film, which lasts approximately one hour, “is a true inspiration for not only PLWH (person living with HIV/AIDS) but anyone who has ever struggled in life for various reasons,” according to Lesli Anderson, Media and HIV Outreach Specialist with CPW. “Shana visited us for World AIDS Day in 2011 and shared her story of being a Native American woman who has been HIV positive for over 20 years. Shana shared the details of learning she was HIV positive and coming to terms with her diagnosis. She also shared her journey with finding her Native American birth family, embracing her Native culture, how learning her culture has helped her live better with HIV and where she is now in life.”
CPW is also recognizing Friday, March 20, which is National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. NNHAAD is a nationwide effort designed to promote HIV testing in Native communities through educational materials and use of marketing strategies. The goals and objectives of this day are to encourage Native people to get educated and to learn more about HIV/AIDS and its impact in their community; work together to encourage testing options and HIV counseling in Native communities; and to help decrease the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.
Some of the facts presented by NNHAAD are that “of persons who were diagnosed with AIDS, American Indians/Alaska Natives had the shortest overall survival time when compared to other races/ethnicities,” and American Indians/Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders have the shortest times to an AIDS diagnosis after a diagnosis of HIV, and that more Native people are dually diagnosed within 12 months (CDC Surveillance Report, 2011).
Alana Bahe, Certified Health Education Specialist Program Manager with CPW, said there are a number of reasons for this, including late testing and confidentiality concerns; lack of knowledge; stigma; and mistrust of the government and health facilities.
“Similar to STDs, HIV doesn’t have symptoms until later in the illness and Natives do not know they have HIV,” Bahe said. “In addition, Natives present at emergency rooms with opportunistic infections that are not linked to HIV/AIDS. Emergency rooms and even providers are not picking up that the OIs are red flags and to test for HIV. There are missed opportunities happening.”
CPW offers free confidential HIV testing in its offices on the Salish Kootenai College campus, in the Agnes Kenmille Building. It takes 20 minutes to know your status. To schedule an appointment call (406) 275-TEST.
