Getting an HIV Test

An estimated one in five Americans living with HIV doesn’t know their status. While the CDC recommends that health care providers test everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 as part of routine physical exams, not all physicians offer it.

On its website, Greater Than AIDS offers Testing 101, including next steps if your test comes back positive or negative. The page also includes a map with testing locations nationwide; the Centers for Disease Control is another place you can find locations offering free HIV tests.

Resources for African Americans

The Black AIDS Institute
Led by President and CEO Phill Wilson, the institute is the only U.S. think tank focused exclusively on the issue of HIV and AIDS among African Americans.

Greater Than AIDS
This national outreach effort offers guides for what you can do in your community to spread awareness about AIDS in the U.S., as well as free promotional materials.

Magic Johnson Foundation
Founded by Earvin “Magic” Johnson in 1991, the foundation works to support community-based efforts to address health in ethnically diverse, urban communities, including raising awareness about HIV/AIDS, treatment options and prevention.

NAACP
The health division of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization advocates for increased testing, boosting access to care, and stopping the spread of the disease.

The Balm in Gilead
Founded by activist Pernessa Seele, the Balm in Gilead is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that assists faith-based institutions in promoting good health and preventing disease throughout the black community.

SisterLove Inc.
This Atlanta-based nonprofit concentrates its work on AIDS prevention, safe-sex education, and self-help, with a focus on women of color.

Resources for HIV/AIDS patients

The Body
A range of resources are available, including a health tracker to help patients organize their HIV treatment, a guide to FDA-approved medications, a network of blogs focusing on living with the virus, and a sister website for HIV health professionals.

Minority AIDS Project
Founded in 1985, the Minority AIDS Project was the first community-based HIV/AIDS group managed by people of color. The Los Angeles-based group provides housing and transportation assistance, case management, and mental health services.

POZ
POZ is a national magazine for people living with HIV/AIDS; its website includes information specifically for people who are newly diagnosed, the latest treatment news, and where to turn if you need help paying for medicines.

 

Learn More About HIV/AIDS

The Age of AIDS
In 2006, FRONTLINE examined why humanity has failed to stop the spread of HIV in The Age of AIDS.  You can watch the full film, learn more about the virus and its origins, explore how countries around the world have responded to the crisis, and explore a timeline of 25 years of worldwide activism, political denial, policy battles, and scientific breakthroughs and failures.

AIDS United
Dedicated to ending the AIDS epidemic in the U.S., AIDS United offers a calendar [PDF] of congressional and other major HIV events in 2012 and fact sheets about HIV/AIDS in all 50 states.

Avert
This international charity based in the United Kingdom contains useful information about AIDS among African Americans, online quizzes about the disease, and explainers about the science of HIV.

Data and statistics

Centers for Disease Control
The CDC provides a variety of national statistics on HIV/AIDS, data about funding for the disease, and a search tool to find a testing site near you.

National Institutes of Health
The NIH offers a search tool to find more information about HIV/AIDS-related clinical trials, a database of drug treatment, including side effects, and daily one-on-one online chats with health information specialists about the disease.

StateHealthFacts.org
This resource from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation offers state-by-state data, including figures for the number of people living with HIV/AIDS, how many people have been tested, and how much federal grant funding each state receives.

HIV/AIDS policy

AIDS.gov
The U.S. government’s AIDS resource page includes a guide to testing sites and care services, as well as a breakdown of the Obama administration’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy.

Henry J. Kaiser Foundation
The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation maintains a variety of policy reports, fact sheets, and survey data about the disease on its HIV and AIDS site.

Office of National AIDS Policy
The White House site includes a policy blog and a timeline of milestones under President Obama in the fight to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS.

AIDS 2012
The home of the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C. offers information about this year’s event, the conference’s official blog, and videos from an array of experts.

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