                   AIDS INFORMATION NEWSLETTER
                   Michael Howe, MSLS, Editor
                     AIDS Information Center
                VA Medical Center, San Francisco
                     (415) 221-4810 ext 3305
                         March 10, 1995

               Women and HIV Infection (Part XXI)

                     Audiovisual Information

TI   The Forgotten People: Latinas With AIDS.
YR   1990.
AV   CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse
     P.O. Box 6003
     Rockville, MD 20849-6003.
     (800) 458-5231.
     CDC NAC Inventory no. V695 (English); CDC NAC Inventory no.
     V696 (Spanish); Distribution fee applies.

     National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services
     Organizations
     Community HIV and AIDS Technical Assistance Network
     1501 16th St., NW.
     Washington, DC 20036-1401.
     (202) 387-5000.

AB   This videorecording tells the stories of three Hispanic women
     with Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). According to
     statistics presented at the beginning of the videorecording,
     three-quarters of all women with AIDS are Black or Hispanic. 
     One-half of them contracted Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
     through shared needles; one-third contracted it from one sex
     partner who used drugs or who had sex with other men.  The
     first story told in the videorecording is that of Paula, a
     33-year-old Chicago woman who shot heroin for 14 years and
     worked as a sex worker to support her habit. She tested
     HIV-positive three years ago, and has been drug-free for one
     year. Her two older sisters, who shared needles with her, have
     also tested HIV-positive. The three sisters receive a great 
     deal of support from their 62-year-old mother, Luisa, who has
     already lost five children to death on the streets, and from
     their father, Luis, a recovering alcoholic. Some of the
     sisters' children know of their diagnosis, and some do not.
     The second story shows what happened to a young Mexican nurse
     who immigrated to this country and married an Intravenous drug
     user (IVDU) with no knowledge of his habits. Now, both husband
     and wife, as well as their 2-year-old son, have AIDS. Both
     adults were initially rejected by their families, and the
     child could not play normally with his small cousins.  The
     final story is that of Damaris, 33, a recovered heroin addict
     who works in outreach programs to help other Hispanic women
     from becoming HIV-infected.

TI   HIV in Women: Conference Held in Minneapolis, MN, October 15
     - 17, 1993.
YR   1993.
AV   HealthSpan
     2810 57th Ave. N., Ste. 425
     Minneapolis, MN 55430.
     (612) 574-7895.
AB   This series of four videos covers educational sessions on HIV
     in women, given for health-care workers in Minnesota. The
     first topic discussed explores the relationship between HIV
     and human papilloma virus, causative agent of cervical cancer.
     Basic manifestations of HIV disease in women, and the ways in
     which they differ from symptoms in men, are described next. 
     The need for gender-specific tests, treatments, and
     AIDS-defining conditions for women are examined. The
     conference explores transmission issues and women, especially
     heterosexual transmission; pregnancy; perinatal transmission; 
     counseling women who might become pregnant; and substance
     abuse. It stresses that HIV in women cannot be successfully
     treated without involvement of the male partner, and also that
     transmission through substance abuse should be considered in
     the context of "sex for drugs" that often occurs. Dr. Patty
     Wetzel, a physician who became HIV-positive through an
     accidental needlestick, shares her experiences during and
     after the exposure.  Workplace issues and the health care
     worker are discussed, including mandatory testing, privacy,
     universal precautions, disclosure, and written workplace
     policies. The conference concludes with a panel discussion of
     ethical concerns, legal issues, State statues, partner
     notification, civil and criminal liabilities, the right to
     health care, and the health care worker's duty to treat.

TI   HIV Infection in Childbearing Years.
YR   1989.
AV   Hospital Satellite Network
     2020 Ave. of the Stars
     Ste. 620
     Los Angeles, CA 90067.
     (310) 277-6710.
AB   This videorecording focuses on the role of nurses in providing
     information to women about Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
     transmission and prevention, and Acquired immunodeficiency
     syndrome (AIDS). In order to provide this information
     effectively, nurses need to learn to identify high-risk women,
     to take sexual histories without feeling uncomfortable, and
     to be nonjudgmental about women and their lifestyles. It is
     also important to provide sensitive counseling to women who
     are HIV-positive persons, especially if they are also
     pregnant.

TI   I'm Not Afraid of Me: The Barbara Bryon Story.
YR   1991.
AV   Alaska Native Health Board
     1345 Rudakot Cir., Ste. 206
     Anchorage, AK 99508.
     (907) 337-0028.
AB   This videorecording tells the story of Alaska Native Barbara
     Bryon and her 6-year-old daughter, Doriann. Both have Human
     immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, but show no symptoms.
     Family members talk of their love and support, while Barbara
     tells how she became infected through a heterosexual affair
     before Doriann was born. She discusses their treatment with
     azidothymidine (AZT) and their determination to maintain a
     positive attitude and to beat Acquired immunodeficiency
     syndrome (AIDS). Barbara tells of her early days of depression
     and denial following her diagnosis, and how she overcame both
     her own feelings and the fears of her friends.  Throughout the
     videorecording, the need for caring and understanding is
     emphasized.

TI   (In) Visible Women.
YR   1991.
AV   Fear of Disclosure Project
     800 Riverside Dr., 2E
     New York, NY 10032-7404.
     (212) 923-1289.
AB   This videorecording features three HIV-positive women
     discussing their feelings about themselves, their illness, and
     others' reactions to them. The three -- a Latina, a Caucasian,
     and a Black -- share a positive attitude, and recount how
     their self-confidence has been increased through activism and
     speaking out about HIV. Two credit their involvement in the
     AIDS activist group ACT UP with giving them a sense of
     empowerment, accomplishment, and unity with others affected
     by HIV/AIDS. The camera follows the first woman, Marina, as
     she graduates from a course on HIV education and mobilization
     sponsored by a task force on women against AIDS, counsels
     women in a shelter for homeless people with AIDS, and
     participates in a demonstration in the offices of a local
     politician. Other graduates of the course, themselves either
     HIV-positive or relatives of persons with AIDS, appear briefly
     to proclaim how their efforts in the community will help take
     the struggle forward. Jeannie tells how her family initially 
     felt shame over her illness, but now are proud of her as she
     travels around the country making speeches protesting the lack
     of AIDS resources for women. Irma refers to the negative
     experiences of incarcerated HIV-positive women, particularly
     the lack of confidentiality they are afforded, but shows how
     she herself finds strength and joy through dancing.

TI   It Won't Happen to Me.
YR   1992.
AV   Kaiser Permanente
     Audio Visual Services
     825 Colorado Blvd., Ste. 319
     Los Angeles, CA 90041.
     (213) 259-4776.
     Program no. 5444.
AB   This videorecording portrays a young woman named Kim who
     contracts HIV/AIDS through heterosexual contact. She shares
     her story and discusses her symptoms, as well as her child's.
     There are many stages she went through, including learning to
     cope, finding hope, and most importantly how to get through
     to others.

TI   The Physical Examination of the Female Patient.
YR   1992.
AV   University of Washington
     Seattle STD Prevention / Training Center
     1001 Broadway, Ste. 101
     Seattle, WA 98122.
     (206) 720-4222.
AB   This videorecording provides the clinician with the
     information and appropriate examination techniques to perform
     a pelvic exam on a female patient. In a step-by-step fashion,
     it shows the clinician how to examine skin, mouth, internal
     and external genitalia, and also how to take specimens for
     laboratory analysis for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs),
     including HIV. Proper handling of specimens and slides is
     illustrated. The video concludes with dialogue that
     illustrates how the clinician can make the patient feel
     comfortable and elicit a sexual history.  (This material
     contains sexually explicit language and/or pictorials that may
     offend some readers/viewers.) 

TI   A Test of a Nation: Women, Children, Families and AIDS.
YR   c 1990.
AV   Gay Men's Health Crisis
     129 W. 20th St.
     New York, NY 10011-3629.
     (212) 337-3553.
AB   In this videorecording, health-care professionals, community
     workers, women infected with Human immunodeficiency virus
     (HIV), and women with Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
     (AIDS) maintain that these women and their children are not
     sufficiently cared for by the health, educational, and legal
     profession.  Voiceovers by patients emphasize the negative
     impact of certain health policies, particularly those
     regarding reproductive rights, socioeconomic conditions
     affecting most women with AIDS, and differences between
     family-unit compositions. They describe efforts made on their
     behalf by community organizations. Adolescent females discuss
     their attitudes towards sexual relations and safer sexual
     behavior.  (This material contains sexually explicit language
     and/or pictorials that may offend some readers/viewers.)

TI   The Time to Know: Women, Children & AIDS.
YR   1991.
AV   Eastern Maine AIDS Network
     P.O. Box 2038
     Bangor, ME 04402-2038.
     (207) 990-3626.
AB   This videorecording uses interviews with five women who have
     Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to warn viewers that
     women who practice risky behavior can become infected with the
     Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Through their personal
     stories, the videorecording addresses issues of denial,
     deciding to have children, caring for ill children, planning
     funerals, and facing death.

TI   Women & AIDS.
YR   1988.
AV   Gay Men's Health Crisis
     129 W. 20th St.
     New York, NY 10011-3629.
     (212) 337-3553.
AB   This videorecording deals with women and Acquired
     immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The survival rate for
     females after diagnosis with Human immunodeficiency virus
     (HIV) infection is much shorter than that for men, because
     women are usually the caregivers and tend to ignore their own
     health. Many are caring for a husband and/or a child with
     AIDS. They are more frequently unable to afford care than men. 
     Heterosexual transmission is increasing, especially among the
     sexual partners of Intravenous drug users (IVDU's).  Black and
     Hispanic women are the hardest hit. Various education
     techniques will be necessary to change behavior because of the
     cultural factors affecting these women. Condom use is a
     special problem to overcome. Safer sexual conduct for lesbians
     is demonstrated. IV-needle sharing is discussed. The need for
     experimental treatment programs for women is analyzed.  (This
     material contains sexually explicit language and/or pictorials
     that may offend some readers/viewers.)

TI   Women & AIDS: An End to Business as Usual.
YR   1991.
AV   Cablevision of Boston
     179 Amory St.
     Brookline, MA 02146.
     (617) 731-6127.
AB   This videorecording features six speeches given at a
     conference on Women and AIDS held in Boston, MA, in 1991. The
     first speaker, Gloria Weissman of the National Institute on
     Drug Abuse, says there are two barriers to effective
     intervention to women: Counselors wait for clients to come to
     their door, and the prevailing feeling is that treatment works
     best with those who are motivated to get it.  She says these
     assumptions are wrong, that the population is hard to reach
     because no one ever tried. She gives statistics on AIDS
     intervention programs that have proved them wrong, and speaks
     of new strategies for outreach in beauty parlors, factories,
     and bars.  Hortensia Amaro of the Latino Health Network in
     Boston addresses the topics of early diagnosis and prevention.
     She says that most women with AIDS are found through
     drug-abuse treatment programs, not through pregnancy clinics
     or sites where the test for Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
     antibodies is performed. She says that women fear losing
     custody of their children, and that health-care providers
     harbor prejudicial attitudes toward pregnant women. She
     discusses the opportunistic infections that affect women and
     how they differ from those that affect men. Amaro points out
     that most research is based on studies performed on males. The
     third speaker is Dazon Dixon of Sisterlove, a community
     outreach program in Atlanta. She says they attempt to put
     acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the big picture
     through the use of safer sex parties. At these events, women
     can talk to other women on an informal basis. She says that
     women are seen as vectors of transmission to children, and
     not recognized as people at risk. Lee Swislow, a nurse at
     Cambridge Hospital, tells of her experiences in caring for
     Persons with AIDS (PWA's). She says that at Boston Hospital,
     they had an adult clinic and a children's clinic, and that
     mainly men came to the adult clinic. Her staff would hear from
     the pediatric clinic that women were bringing in their
     children and that the women looked ill, but that they wouldn't
     get treatment for themselves. She then tells of the difference
     after she switched to Cambridge, where a small program
     followed a handful of patients and took a personal approach
     to care. Cathryn Samples, from the Martha Eliot Health Center
     in Boston, talks about work with minority women.  She explains 
     Project Protection, a community-based health education program
     designed to enhance services to Black and Hispanic women,
     particularly adolescents. She says that two-thirds of her
     clients come seeking condoms.  Finally, Joyce Dennison talks
     about the work done by the Health Education Resource
     Organization in Baltimore. She explains the Young Adult AIDS
     Prevention Project (YAAPP), a Centers for Disease
     Control-funded intervention and education program targeted at
     adolescents and young adults. The team members approach
     adolescents on the streets as part of their intervention
     strategy.

TI   Women & AIDS: Keeping Women in Focus.
YR   1991.
AV   Cablevision of Boston
     179 Amory St.
     Brookline, MA 02146.
     (617) 731-6127.
AB   This videorecording presents a montage of speeches, personal
     interviews, and other vignettes from the 1991 Women and AIDS
     Conference held in Boston, MA.  An introductory segement says
     that Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among women
     is rising at 29 percent per year, while infection among men
     rises 18 percent.  In the United States, 80,000 women of
     childbearing age are infected.  The two-day conference
     featured 900 participants and more than 85 workshops and
     programs. Speakers shown on the tape include Ellen Koteen of
     the Women and AIDS Network, who points out that women will
     attend to the health care needs of their families and delay
     getting treatment for themselves. She says she has found this
     very evident in the Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
     epidemic.  She says that women average 14 weeks of life from
     diagnosis to death, while men average a year. Gloria Weissman 
     of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) says the fact
     that women would be vulnerable to the AIDS epidemic was 
     apparent early on. But women have remained isolated and
     stigmatized, welcome only as subjects for research and
     labelled as vectors for transmission. She speaks on the
     difficulties involved in women's negotiating with their
     partners for condom use, since they are engaged in changing
     behavior other than their own.  Elizabeth Avedon, who works
     in women's support groups, says all women need to understand
     that they are at risk. She speaks of women who were married
     for many years and who felt betrayed when they learned of
     their husbands' infidelity through HIV infection.  The
     videorecording also features interviews with several women
     with AIDS. The two most prominently featured are Wendy
     Bennet-Alder, a member of the AIDS ACTION Committee, and Sonya
     Heard. Both became infected through drug use. Bennet-Alder
     says she is glad to see more women with AIDS speaking on the
     need for recognition. She relates her personal story, saying
     she has been speaking out for three years. Heard tells her
     story of finding out about her infection while pregnant. Her
     baby subsequently tested HIV-negative; meanwhile, she has
     lived free of drug abuse and with HIV for five years.

TI   Women and AIDS: A Survival Kit.
YR   1988.
AV   University of California Berkeley
     Center for Media and Independent Living
     2176 Shattuick Ave.
     Berkeley, CA 94704.
     (510) 642-0460.
     Inventory no. 37794.
AB   This videorecording examines the Acquired immunodeficiency
     syndrome (AIDS) and the risk of infection for heterosexual
     females.  Intravenous drug use, perinatal, and other forms of
     Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission are discussed.
     The psychosocial factors of relationships between men and
     women are illustrated through multiethnic, multiracial
     vignettes focusing upon open communication about condom use
     and safer sexual conduct. HIV prevention is encouraged through
     attitude modification and women's health education programs.

TI   Women and AIDS: Deadly Denial.
YR   c 1991.
AV   Indiana Board of Health
     1330 W. Michigan St.
     Indianapolis, IN 46206-1964.
     (317) 232-4365.
AB   This videorecording warns women that they are not immune to
     Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It points out that
     in 1982, there were only 82 known cases of AIDS among women,
     but by 1991, that number had soared to 18,000; approximately
     1 in 10 of these women became infected with the Human
     immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through intercourse with a
     bisexual partner. The videorecording points out 72 percent of
     these women are Injecting drug users (IDU's), or the sex
     partner of an IDU; 52 percent are Black, and 20 percent,
     Hispanic. Stil, it says, many women are engaging in casual
     sexual intercourse and one-night stands because they don't
     realize the risk. The videorecording uses a number of women
     who tell their stories, and who talk about how they deal with
     infection. It explores the connection between drug abuse and
     AIDS, pointing out that a number of women will exchange sex
     for money to buy drugs. It examines the risk of infection for
     sex workers, adolescents, and lesbians. Women are warned that
     it may take 10 years for symptoms to appear, and that women
     may have different symptoms than men do. The videorecording
     warns women that they may pass the virus on during pregnancy;
     it says that 30 percent of babies born to infected women are
     themselves infected. Viewers are encouraged to take the 
     HIV-antibody test before becoming pregnant. It explains safer
     sex and condom use, and looks at cultural barriers to AIDS
     education.

TI   Women and HIV: Pregnancy and Beyond.
YR   1991.
AV   New York University
     New York - Caribe AIDS / SIDA
     AIDS Mental Health Project
     532 Shimkin Hall
     50 W. 4th St.
     New York, NY 10003.
     (212) 998-5330.
AB   This videotape is an educational program for health care
     providers on women who are pregnant and HIV positive.
     Practitioners from three inner city New York, NY, hospitals
     discuss their experiences, present approaches to working with
     HIV-infected women, and provide strategies for working with
     their colleagues in the health delivery system. Eight areas
     of concern are presented in the videotape: patient trust, drug
     abuse and sexual practices, HIV antibody testing, social work
     services, elective termination, drug abuse rehabilitation,
     medical management, and postnatal considerations. A discussion
     guide is included. 

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