Racial differences in affirmation of personal habit change to prevent HIV infection.

Abstract

In the context of an epidemiological investigation of AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices, 2,006 employees of the Tennessee Mental Health and Mental Retardation residential facilities were surveyed to test the hypothesis that blacks have been differentially sensitized to their disproportionate level of HIV vulnerability. We found that blacks were significantly more likely than whites to affirm personal habit changes to prevent HIV infection (P less than 0.00001) and significantly more likely to reject the notion that AIDS is not a threat to rural areas of the United States (P less than 0.00001). These data were interpreted to be suggestive evidence that blacks have been effectively sensitized to the disproportionate threat of AIDS to the black community and may represent an increased receptivity of blacks to the adoption of HIV preventive practices.