SUMMER 2000 VOL.7 Ur b a n Tren d s A quarterly newsletter published by HIV TESTING – Why It's Such A Hard Sell ar ound and see that there is very little social support in minority communities for HIV-positive people. They fear hav- ing to disclose a positive HIV status to people they care about. •HI V Cost and difficulty in gaining access to drug assistance and other he a l t h c a r e programs keep some from get- ting tested. People who feel that they can’t get health insurance or affo r d treatment if they test positive often don’t bother. •HI V Many minorities have a deep- seated mistrust in the medical commu- ni t y – g r ounded in the history of such things as the infamous Tu s k e g e e experiments and fears of genocide. Despite the fact that the overall • Pr evention effo r ts centered on number of AIDS cases is down acros s sc a r e tactics have backfired and led to •HI V Traditions of pride and machismo, the United States, the number of HIV a fearful public that sees little value in common to men in the African infections is rising steadily among testing. People are in denial or have American and Latino community, mean become fatalistic that testing will only ce r tain populations. Initially thought of that honest discussions between sexu- co n f i r m a possible death sentence: "If I al partners about sex, adultery, and as a disease affecting gay white men, do n ’ t know, I don’t have to deal with it." STDs, are out of the question–a situa- today's reality is that HIV has over- tion that often discourages women whelmingly spread within communi- •HI V The pervasive perception of HIV fr om getting tested, and prevents early ties of color, affecting men, women as a moral issue (God’s punishment for di s c o v e r y of their HIV status. and children. at-risk or promiscuous behavior), rather than a public health issue, causes many •HI V Most women of color look at The first step in helping to prevent the not to protect themselves or get tested. themselves as caregivers first, and do sp r ead of HIV/AIDS is to know one's not always prioritize their time in orde r •HI V Individuals do not envision HIV status–either positive or negative. to take care of themselves. For women themselves as members of a risk grou p and others living in poverty , the strug - Ho w e v e r , for most people, HIV testing or as being at risk. Even today, many gle for daily survival may take prec e - means having to think about and deal believe that AIDS is a disease of well- dence over concerns about HIV infec- with deeply personal issues - intimate of f, gay, white males. Many say to tion, whose impact may not be seen for relationships, sexual behavior and themselves, "If I don’t fit that prof i l e , several years. even one’s own morta l i t y . The chal- then I’m not in danger." lenge is to convince members of the •HI V With MSMs (men who have sex •HI V They fear a lack of anonymity most affected communities that with men) of color, HIV testing cam- and/or confidentiality during testing. paigns targeted for the gay community choosing to get tested, reg a r dless of When people of color walk into a facility ar e not successful, because these the results, is beneficial to their health, pe r ceived to be "White," there is a feeling men, who often are married or still have and the health of their community. of exposure. In addition, there are fears relationships with women, tend to iden- of facing racism and homophobia at tify primarily with their ethnic/racial affi l - MEE has been res e a r ching these testing facilities where staffs have not iation, and, in many ways, think like a issues for a number of years, developed cultural sensitivity to inner city "typical" heterosexual male. clients. People want to go where they attempting to identify some of the feel they will be treated with res p e c t . •HI V Lack of knowledge about test- major obstacles to HIV testing within ing proc e d u r es, fear of blood and nee- at-risk populations. We have found •HI V They fear losing their partn e r s , dles, along with rumors about HIV several reasons that it’s such a hard family and friends if they go in for test- infection through testing keeps many sell to convince people to get tested: ing, or if they test positive. They look potential testers away. ...Continued on page 2 Of f th e S h e l f i Contrary to popular belief, a large number of teens actually want to quit Tha DoggFather: The Times, Trials and smoking. However, many of them have difficulty in succeeding, in part, because Hardcore Truths of Snoop Dogg, William most cessation programs are geared towards adults. "There is a mythology out Morrow and Co., 1999 there that teen smokers don’t want to stop," says Dr. Richard Hurt of the Mayo Snoop on the movies: Clinic. "That is not true. We just don’t know how to help them very well." "Maybe The Godfather had bigger stars and a megabudget, but the message A 1992, University of Massachusetts study found that 52% of 10th grade smokers wasn’t all that different from Superfly. surveyed had already tried to quit two or more times. Twenty-five percent of the ...Whites might see a movie, get them- teens felt they were addicted, and nearly half were concerned about their health. selves a good look at all the sex and vio- lence and the way the story shows how Un f o rt u n a t e l y , it appears to be much harder for teens to quit than it is for their adult does crime pay, then they go home to co u n t e r p a r ts. Whereas the average adult "quit rate" after a behavioral cessation pro- their houses and turn on their personal gram (not using nicotine aids like the patch) is 50%, for teens the average is closer to security system and get a good night’s 7- 1 0 % . sleep...A black might see the same movie then head on back to the ghetto, where the cops are looking for any excuse to The social aspect of smoking is the main reason why it is so difficult for teens to drag his a** off to jail...and half the quit. In social groups where peer pressure dominates, friendships are often brothers he knows are either in jail, on formed through smoking. Another deterrent, especially among teen girls, is the p a role or dead...We ’ re all getting the accompanying weight gain that comes with cessation. In fact, many teen girls same message. It’s just that some of us start smoking in order to control their weight. It is clear that, when it comes to have got more reason than others to young people, the power of peer pressure and social smoking must be challenged believe in it." in order to significantly impact behavior change. Ur b an Tren d s (Los Angeles Times) This newsletter is printed under the registered trademark of MEE Productions Inc. and should not be reproduced, reprinted, or distributed without the express permission of MEE Productions Inc. Permission to photocopy for Internal use can be granted by calling MEE Productions Inc. at 215.829.4920. APUBLICATION OF MEE PRODUCTIONS INC. 340 N. 12th Street, 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 E-mail: [email protected] www.meeproductions.com Black and White Television: What Are We Watching? To win meaningful ratings, pro- reported that they only started to ducing a television show that watch these shows when they hit appeals to urban markets must syndication, where African Americans be accompanied by a culturally- do most of their sitcom viewing. relevant campaign to assure B e f o re that, their awareness of viewership. MEE has combined such shows was low or non-existent. responses from focus groups and surveys with our insights Changing the f rom years of working with Marketing Focus African American youth and African Americans we talked to adults in entertainment market- said they rarely "channel surfed." ing to develop strategic recom- Instead of just flipping channels, mendations for reaching the looking for new programs, they urban demographic. turn on the television to watch a specific program. That increases TV Viewing Habits the importance of developing alter- native forms of program promo- MEE has found that television- among our focus group participants. Soap tion—promotions that do not necessarily viewing decisions of African Americans, operas were the most popular programs reach people in front of the TV, but rather especially in prime time (8-11 p.m.), are during mid-day. largely made based on race. This is partic- when they are out of their homes and in their communities. ularly true when it comes to half-hour situ- T h e re is a perception among African ation comedies, which Blacks often name Americans that there is no programming as their favorite kind of TV pro g r a m . Promoting Programming that will appeal to them on the "Big Three" to Urban Audiences Favorite shows among African Americans, networks.