Owning AIDS: Latino Organizations and the AIDS Epidemic

Abstract

There have been various suggestions in both the mass media and in the social science literature that minority communities have not responded in a timely fashion to AIDS despite the disproportionate prevalence of the disease in these communities. A review of organizational response to AIDS in the Latino community, however, suggests that organizations at the local, regional, and natonal levels have overcome major hurdles, including lack of sufficient funding, to mount various kinds of AIDS prevention, counseling, support, and research programs. Additionally, this review suggests the need for increased support and involvement of Latino organizations in AIDS initiatives and the need for an expanded cadre of Latino researchers and health care providers.