AIDS conference focuses on prevention in rural areas

Health educators, AIDS prevention specialists and government representatives gathered in Bloomington this weekend for the third annual National Conference for HIV and STD prevention in rural communities.\nFriday through Sunday, more than 200 participants from over 30 states attended the conference, sponsored by the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention and the National Rural Health Center, at the Indiana Memorial Union to discuss broad topics concerning AIDS prevention and education in rural areas.\nRCAP Senior Director Bill Yarber said this is the only AIDS/STD organization to focus on the problems facing rural areas, which accounted for 7.3 percent of all AIDS cases in 2000, according to RCAP research.\n"The goal of this conference is to showcase model rural AIDS/STD prevention education programs and lessons learned," said NRHA Executive Director Stephen Wilhide in a letter to conference participants. "We … have key players in rural AIDS/STD prevention come together to share information, provide hands-on skills and form partnerships and collaborate with each other …"\nYarber, who wrote the country's first school-based STD prevention curriculum, founded the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention in 1984 under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since 2000, RCAP has been funded by the Center for Disease Control.\nYarber said the conference helped participants share their experiences in prevention education and learn about programs that work.\n"The people that come really appreciate it," he said. "When they go to the big AIDS conferences, the focus is almost always on the problems of large urban areas."\nPart of the conference consisted of workshops in several IMU rooms. The packed sessions showcased speakers on broad-ranging topics and power-point presentations while participants of all ages and races took notes on the material presented.\nKeynote speeches to the whole conference addressed such subjects as HIV prevention for rural migrant workers, American Indian men, gays and bisexuals and other demographics.\n"Rural areas are not immune to AIDS," Yarber said. "They have their own unique problems that are just as serious."\nMore than their urban counterparts, rural HIV and AIDS patients may face serious prejudices from their communities. Rural ignorance and homophobia can lead them to a sense of isolation and despair. Also, lack of resources and expertise in AIDS treatment and prevention can affect the health of patients in rural areas.\n"People who become infected in rural areas often face greater problems," Yarber said. "The rates of depression and suicide are much higher, and isolation is a key factor"