AIDSVu Releases New Maps that Depict Impact of HIV across America

ATLANTA, June 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, during National HIV Testing Week USA, AIDSVu released new interactive online maps that show HIV prevalence data for 34 highly-impacted U.S. cities, including for the first time Birmingham, AL, updated state- and county-level prevalence data, and year-by-year new diagnosis data for 2008 to 2013. AIDSVu maps provide a comprehensive and localized understanding of the epidemic by showing where new HIV cases continue to rise and illustrating the need for prevention, testing, and treatment resources.

AIDSVu is a project of Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in partnership with Gilead Sciences, Inc. The free, interactive online site provides the most detailed publicly available view of HIV in the United States, displaying HIV prevalence and new diagnosis data at national, state, and local levels, and by different demographics, including age, race, and sex. AIDSVu's focus on "understanding HIV where you live" is amplified this year with new printable snapshots of local statistics, the display of Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) on the services locator, and the inclusion of Birmingham's ZIP code-level maps.

"We are constantly expanding AIDSVu as a resource for people who work in HIV policy and care, because this tool is critical in helping to identify areas in the U.S. with the greatest need for resources," said Patrick S. Sullivan, PhD, DVM, Professor of Epidemiology at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, and the principal researcher for AIDSVu. "AIDSVu provides a road map for the state of the HIV epidemic, from the national level all the way down to neighborhoods. By utilizing these data and visuals, our researchers, doctors, and communities can pin-point where prevention and treatment activities are most needed to make real change and stop the spread of HIV."

Highlights of the launch:

• New ZIP code-level maps showing HIV prevalence in Birmingham, AL.
• Updated ZIP code-level maps showing HIV prevalence for 33 cities – Atlanta, GA; Baton Rouge, LA; Boston, MA; Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT; Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Columbia, SC; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Detroit, MI; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Hampton Roads, VA; Houston, TX; Jackson, MS; Jacksonville, FL; Los Angeles County, CA; Memphis, TN;  Miami, FL; Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI; Newark, NJ; New Orleans, LA; New York City; New Haven-Milford, CT; Orlando, FL; Palm Beach, FL; Oakland, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Richmond, VA; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; San Juan, PR; Tampa, FL; and Washington, D.C.
• New neighborhood maps for San Francisco, updated community-level maps for Chicago, and ward-level maps for Washington, D.C.
• Updated maps displaying HIV prevalence data by census tract for Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
• HIV prevalence maps alongside social determinants of health – such as poverty, high school education, median household income, income inequality, and people without health insurance.
• HIV testing and treatment locator maps, including, for the first time, housing opportunities for persons with AIDS, alongside NIH-funded HIV prevention, vaccine and treatment trials locations viewable on AIDSVu's interactive maps.

AIDSVu maps illustrate the geographic variations in the HIV epidemic across the United States:

• The national map shows significantly higher rates of people living with HIV in the Northeast and the South than in much of the rest of the country. In 2012, the number of people diagnosed with HIV was highest in the South (22,629 diagnoses), followed by the Northeast (8,629 diagnoses). 
• AIDSVu new diagnoses maps show that the total numbers of new diagnoses are highest in urban areas. In the southern U.S., even some rural counties have substantial rates of new HIV diagnoses.
• The data on AIDSVu's maps can be viewed by race/ethnicity. AIDSVu shows that HIV disproportionately affects black and Hispanic/Latino Americans, and that these disparities exist in both major metropolitan areas and rural areas.
• AIDSVu also provides downloadable and printable resources – including slide sets of the various map views available on the site – to help those who work in HIV prevention and treatment educate others about the U.S. epidemic.

AIDSVu and National HIV Testing Day:

• This year's update of AIDSVu is being launched during National HIV Testing Week and in advance of National HIV Testing Day on June 27. Currently, more than 1.2 million Americans are living with HIV, and nearly one in seven people with HIV do not know their status.
• Information about HIV prevalence at the local level – as shown on AIDSVu – can help individuals understand the impact of HIV in their communities and the importance of getting tested. The AIDSVu testing locator helps users find a place in their community to get tested for HIV.

The state- and county-level data displayed on AIDSVu were obtained from the CDC and compiled by researchers at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. ZIP code, census tract, and neighborhood prevalence data were provided directly by state, county, and city health departments, depending on the entity responsible for HIV surveillance.

AIDSVu was developed by Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in partnership with Gilead Sciences, Inc. The project is guided by an Advisory Committee and a Technical Advisory Group with representatives from federal agencies, state health departments and non-governmental organizations working in HIV prevention, care and research.

About the Rollins School of Public Health
The Rollins School of Public Health is part of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. The school houses six academic departments, 20 multidisciplinary centers – including an NIH-supported Center for AIDS Research – and over 160 full-time doctoral-level faculty members.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150624/225437-INFO 

SOURCE AIDSVu

Related Links

http://aidsvu.org/