A University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) researcher has netted a $2.5 million grant that will expand HIV and hepatitis C prevention education among a target audience of African American men and women with histories of criminal justice involvement and substance abuse.
Latunja Sockwell, a researcher in the Research and Evaluation Division of the Department of Family & Preventive Medicine,received the five-year federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. She is partnering with Better Community Development Inc. to educate audiences about prevention measures.
“The fastest growing population for rates of new HIV infection are among African Americans, and much of that growth is happening in the South,” Sockwell said in a statement.
More than 5,500 people in Arkansas have HIV, with approximately 77 percent of that total being male. The largest concentrations of HIV infections in the state are centered in Lee, Pulaski and Crittenden counties.
“We know how to prevent HIV transmission, so I look at those numbers and ask myself, what are we doing to get this information out to people?” Sockwell said. “You can provide screenings, but if you don’t educate people on how to stay safe in the first place, those numbers are going to continue to go up. So yes, we test, and we promote that it’s important to know your status, but we also put the power in people’s hands by giving them the education to protect themselves.”
While the grant is aimed at African Americans with certain criteria, Sockwell says she intends to work with any demographic group.
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