| Although AIDS affects all racial groups, blacks and Hispanics are affected disproportionately. Singer, Flores, Davison, Burke, Castillo, Scanlon, & Rivera (1990) reported that while Hispanics represent nine percent of the United States population, they account for disproportionate percentages of AIDS cases. Of the AIDS cases reported among Pennsylvania residents during the period 1981-1993, 824 (10%) occurred among Hispanics. Likewise, of the 151 cases of AIDS reported in York County since 1981, 20 (16%) of the cases have been Hispanic (The Pennsylvania Department of Health, 1993a).;The Hispanic Action Health Model (HAHM) was implemented as a voluntary community action group concerned with the lack of health-related resources in the city's rapidly expanding Hispanic community. This model was developed into a community-based research, training, prevention, and advocacy seminar devoted to improving the health knowledge and AIDS prevention of Hispanics in York City, Pennsylvania. They involved the target population in the program from the needs assessment stage through the evaluation. Also, these approaches are based on the concept that the audience will learn by reflecting and acting on their reality. This is a key assumption of the critical ethnographic framework.;In the health/AIDS need assessment conducted in York, 109 people participated in the survey. The distribution of these 109 participants were the following: 19 directors of community services; 15 Hispanic community leaders, and 75 members of the Hispanic community. According to the results of the health/AIDS needs assessment conducted in York, the ten main health problems identified in the Hispanic community by order of priority were the following: AIDS (89), Drug Abuse (79), Alcohol Abuse (56), Sexually Transmitted Diseases (40), Access to Medical Care (38), Infant Care (25), Mental Illness (23), Prenatal Care (17), Heart Diseases (15) and Cigarette Smoking (14).;Through the Hispanic Action Health Model (HAHM) inadequacies in the quality and quantity of health services being provided to the Hispanic community were reversed, culturally relevant health resources were expanded, and community awareness and involvement in health issues were enhanced. The model empowers members of the Hispanic community to undertake necessary behavioral changes for health promotion. HAHM also facilitates the development and implementation of health/AIDS educational tools that are meaningful and sensitive to the different ethnic groups, particular languages, cultural values, and social patterns in the community. HAHM provides an opportunity for every person to get involved in the fight to prevent health problems, including HIV infection and AIDS. The model demonstrates that working together a community can reduce the spread of AIDS. |
