Tag Archives: hiv

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HIV in 2019: Stories Beyond a Medical Lens

Broadcast date: July 11, 2019 at 2 p.m. Eastern

In 2019, being diagnosed with HIV is no longer a death sentence. But the rates of the infection continue to climb in America among some groups, despite advancements in medicine, education and outreach. More than 40,000 new HIV infections are reported every year, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. But 40 percent of people living with HIV don’t know they have it, or know and are not seeking out care. In his State of the Union address in February, President Donald Trump announced an initiative to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. by 2030.

In this hour-long webinar, reporters and editors will learn how to find, interpret and use data about HIV in reported stories that go beyond a medical lens. Because HIV is not only a medical topic, but a political, racial, and socioeconomic one. It infects people of all ages, races, genders and sexual identities.

Journalists of all beats and backgrounds will learn why it’s important for their communities to understand HIV — and how they can tell more compelling stories to engage their audiences on the topic. 

Instructor

Justine Griffin is the health and medicine reporter for the Tampa Bay Times. She is a past vice president of the Journalism & Women Symposium, where she served on the board of directors for more than three years. Griffin has covered a wide range of beats, from retail and tourism to transportation and real estate, at the Times. She has also covered business news at daily newspapers across Florida. Prior to joining the Times, Griffin was the assistant projects editor at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Who should take this course

Reporters from all media and beats and anyone else interested in different ways to approach stories about HIV/AIDS.

What will I learn:

  • Where to find public records and data to track trends
  • Where to find sources both nationally and in your own community to tell HIV-related stories
  • Tips on how to get past stigma and political narratives
  • Ideas for producing stories beyond a medical angle
  • What’s new in medical research, social outreach and where to find news pegs throughout the year

This webinar is free, thanks to support from our training partner, NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists.

Founded in 1990, NLGJA is an organization of journalists, media professionals, educators and students working from within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of LGBTQ issues. NLGJA opposes all forms of workplace bias and provides professional development to its members.

Watch the replay of the webinar here.

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HIV is on the rise in Florida and young people don’t seem to care

Robert Marquez of Tampa was diagnosed with HIV at 18. He didn't know much about the disease at the time, but quickly did his research. "It didn't make me feel better," said Marquez, now 20. "But it gave me hope." [BRONTE WITTPENN | Times]

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times 

Robert Marquez was 18 when he got the news that would change his life forever.

He was HIV positive.

“I knew nothing about it outside of it being a ‘gay disease’ like my conservative parents and pastor said about it,” said Marquez, now 20. “But now, I know that’s not true. It can affect anyone. But it’s also possible to live a long, normal life.”

His case is one example of a double-edged reality that has raised concern among advocates as HIV makes an unwelcome comeback in Florida. While the stigma has lifted somewhat and effective treatments have lessened much of the danger, the disease no longer presses on the public consciousness like it once did.

That and a lack of public information have contributed to a rise in cases among a new generation of young people who never knew the fear that HIV evoked in earlier times.

Florida continues to rank at or near the top nationally for HIV diagnoses, with Pinellas and Hillsborough counties among the regions that are considered hotbeds of activity. And local health officials say they are seeing more cases among people in their early teens to early 20s.

“Yes, HIV is more manageable these days, but it’s on the rise again. Younger people are being diagnosed and don’t seem to understand the consequences or know the history of the stigma behind HIV and AIDS,” said Lorraine Langlois, CEO of Metro Wellness & Community Centers, a network of health care facilities that specialize in LBGTQ services around Tampa Bay.

While state health officials typically don’t release HIV data in real time, many available numbers support what advocates say they are seeing in their centers.

According to the Florida Department of Health, the number of HIV diagnoses:

• Increased 8 percent statewide among people of all ages from 2014 to 2016.

• Shot up 20 percent from 2007 to 2016 for people in their 20s across the state.

• Rose significantly over the same nine years for people in their 20s in Tampa Bay. The increase was 28 percent in Pinellas and Pasco counties, and 23 percent in Hillsborough County.

Nationally, people ages 13 to 24 accounted for 21 percent of all new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. in 2016, with most of those occurring among those who are 20 to 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Many of them are not using condoms, a problem that has only worsened in the last decade. In a CDC survey last year, only 54 percent of sexually active high school students said they used condoms the last time they had intercourse, down from 61 percent in 2007.

Read more here.