
HIV/AIDS Resources for Patients
Despite the stigma that HIV/AIDS carry, modern medicine has made it possible for people with HIV to live long, healthy, and active lives.
Looking for HIV prevention services near you? Put in your zip code and find nearby locations that provide HIV testing, PrEP, PEP, and condoms.
Learn more about Prevention and obtain resources to assist you, your colleagues, and your partners in effectively communicating about HIV screening, treatment, and prevention.
Click Here: Prevention
What is HIV/AIDS?
10 Facts About HIV/AIDS Everyone Should Know
HIV FAQs – Greater Than HIV – Common questions and answers

What Are HIV and AIDS?
HIV.gov
HIV 101 – Essential information about HIV/AIDS.
CDC

HIV & AIDS
Planned Parenthood

What are HIV and AIDS?
Avert

The Basics of HIV Prevention
NIH

Prevention of HIV/AIDS
Stanford Healthcare

Prevention of HIV and AIDS
NHS (UK)

How can I prevent HIV?
Planned Parenthood
Treatment
HIV Information and Education – Stop the Virus – Awareness and prevention resources
Find Resources – LinkUDMV – Tool to locate food pantries, housing support, healthcare providers, legal services, and more.

AIDS & HIV: Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention
LiveScience

HIV/AIDS Diagnosis and Treatment
Mayo Clinic

HIV Treatment: The Basics
NIH

AIDS Treatment
University of California San Francisco
First HIV-to-HIV Living Donor Kidney Transplant in the U.S. | Nina's Story
Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center team performs the first reported HIV-to-HIV living donor kidney transplant in the U.S. Nina Martinez has been living with HIV for most of her life; watch her story as she becomes part of history as the first person living with HIV, donating to a recipient also living with HIV.
Living with HIV
CDC
HIV in the Hispanic/Latino Community
AIDS United – News & Resources
20 Minority-Focused HIV Prevention Evidence-Based Programs/Interventions

HIV/AIDS and Hispanic Americans
Department of Health and Human Services

Experts Say Rate Of HIV Infections Among US Latinos Is An ‘Invisible Crisis’
Latino USA

The Invisible US Hispanic-Latino HIV Crisis: Addressing Gaps in the National Response
NYU

Latinos and HIV/AIDS
Kaiser Family Foundation

Stigma is keeping LGBTQ+ Hispanic and Latino men from seeking HIV care: report
The Hill

11 Fact about HIV and AIDS in the Latino Community
Do Something

Hispanic and Latino People in the U.S. Are Struggling with 'Invisible' HIV Crisis
Newsweek

HIV in the Latino Community
AETC National Coordinating Resource Center
HIV and COVID-19

Coronavirus (COVID-19) and People with HIV
HIV.gov

Key Questions: HIV and COVID-19
Kaiser Family Foundation

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and people living with HIV
World Health Organization (WHO)
Recursos
What is HIV, and what are some of its effects?
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that weakens the immune system, leading to patients being more vulnerable to other infections and diseases. It spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of a person with HIV, typically in the form of unprotected sex or through shared injection drug equipment.
There is currently no cure for HIV, and as a result, patients carry it on to the rest of their lives; however, patients with HIV can be treated through antiretroviral therapy (ART) in order to live a long and healthy life without transmitting HIV to their sexual partners. While it is one of the most deadly and persistent epidemics, with the first patient having been identified in 1981, there are varying forms of protection and treatment that can help stop the spread of HIV. Methods to prevent getting HIV include pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) treatments. 1
What is AIDS? How does it affect patients?
HIV has three stages: Acute Infection, Chronic Infection, and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). AIDs is the last stage of HIV, which happens when the body’s immune system becomes badly damaged and can no longer function to protect itself. This results in increased vulnerability to other severe illnesses, called opportunistic infections, as well as increased risk of patient infectiousness. Because HIV medication stops the progression of this disease, most people do not reach this stage. 2
What is the difference between these two conditions?
AIDS is the final stage of HIV. It is identified when CD4 cells fall to less than 200 cells per cubic millimeter of blood (200 cells/mm), as compared to between 500 and 1,600 cells/mm for someone with a healthy immune system. CD4 cells help your body fight infections, which is what the HIV virus tries to weaken.3 At this point, a person with AIDS can survive for about three years.4 However, if they have a dangerous opportunistic disease, this timeline can fall to less than a year of survival.5
What are some symptoms to look out for?
Some patients develop flu-like symptoms about 2-4 weeks after infection. Some of the symptoms that arise in this first phase of acute HIV infection are:
- Fever,
- Chills,
- Rash,
- Night sweats,
- Muscle aches,
- Sore throat,
- Fatigue,
- Swollen lymph nodes, and
- Mouth ulcers.
However, many people can be asymptomatic and not feel sick during this phase. Other illnesses can cause these symptoms as well, so having them does not guarantee that a patient has contracted HIV. See a health care provider if you develop these symptoms and think you might have been exposed to HIV. Getting tested is the only way to detect HIV. 6
Where can I get tested?
You can find an HIV testing location near you using the HIV Services Locator.
There is also the option to self-test. This allows for people to take an HIV test and find out the result in their own home or other private location. Self-test kits are available at local pharmacies and online. Some health departments and local organizations also provide these kits for free.7
How does HIV affect the Hispanic community?
Some Hispanics/Latinos are among the most affected subpopulations in the US and dependent areas. In fact, 27% of new HIV diagnoses in 2018 were among Hispanics/Latinos here. 1 in 6 patients are unaware they even have it. At least 61% of Hispanics/Latinos with HIV received some form of care, and 53% have had the virus significantly suppressed.8
Challenges the community faces in combating the spread of HIV includes:
- Racism, discrimination, HIV stigma, and homophobia
- Poverty, migration patterns, lower educational levels, and language barriers
- Fear or disclosing their immigration status
- Mistrust in the health care system
- High overall STD rates in certain subgroups
PrEP Coverage Resources for Large Copays or Uninsured Patients

Copay Cards for Oral PrEP
Gilead Advancing Access

Injectable PrEP Savings and Assistance
ViiVConnect Programs

Patient Advocate Foundation
HIV, AIDS & Prevention

Good Days
HIV, AIDS Treatment and Prevention

State PrEP Assistance Program
PREP/ PEP Access

Ready Set PrEP
How to Find Out if you Qualify to Enroll for Free PrEP Medications

Oral PrEP Assistance Program
Gilead Advancing Access
Resources for People Experiencing Homelessness (PEH) who Have HIV
Applying Trauma-Informed Care and Harm Reduction Principles to Optimize HIV/HCV Care for PEH
In this 1-hour webinar, Dr. Stacey Trooskin and licensed clinical social worker, Juliana Wallace, discuss the basics of language around discussing health care for PEH and the principles of trauma-informed care and harm reduction.
HIV and HCV Screening and Linkage to Care for PEH
Dr. Stacey Trooskin and Dr. Arsalan Shah discuss screening for HIV and HCV and optimal strategies to link PEH to care, including how to incorporate community and outreach services and external partners.
HIV Treatment and Prevention Services for People Experiencing Homelessness
In this 1-hour webinar, Dr. Arsalan Shah and Dr. Sarah Rowan discuss strategies to test PEH for HIV, the rationale and optimal tactics to initiate either PrEP or ART in PEH, and clinic models for preventing or treating HIV in PEH.
Use of Simplified HCV Treatment Guidelines and Minimal Monitoring Recommendations Among PEH
In this 1-hour webinar, Dr. Stacey Trooskin and Dr. Arsalan Shah will discuss longitudinal support for PEH with HIV or HCV, including social services, community and outreach resources, and the importance of housing first.
Retention of People Experiencing Homelessness in Comprehensive HIV and HCV Care
Dr. Stacey Trooskin and Dr. Arsalan Shah will discuss longitudinal support for PEH with HIV or HCV, including social services, community and outreach resources, and the importance of housing first.
Citations
<< Click Here To See More >>
- https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/about-hiv-and-aids/what-are-hiv-and-aids
- https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/whatishiv.html
- https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/about-hiv-and-aids/what-are-hiv-and-aids
- https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/whatishiv.html
- https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/about-hiv-and-aids/what-are-hiv-and-aids
- https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/whatishiv.html
- https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/about-hiv-and-aids/what-are-hiv-and-aids
- https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/racialethnic/hispaniclatinos/index.html