Dr. Kevin Fenton, Ms. Janet Cleveland, and Dr. George Roberts addressed the participants and provided overviews and updates on the HIV/AIDS crisis among African American women, CDC’s Heightened National Response action strategies, and the vision for CDC’s overall response to the crisis and outcomes of programmatic efforts. In addition, the following individuals addressed the participants and provided information on the epidemiological, social, economic, and co-morbidity factors associated with the HIV/AIDS crisis among African American women:

Dr. Madeline Sutton, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, CDC

"The HIV/AIDS Epidemic and Black Americans"

Dr. Monica Sweeny, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

"Social issues and Economic Factors of the Epidemic"

Mr. David Johnson, Division of STD Prevention, CDC

"Can You Hear Me Now? Linking STIs and HIV infection"

Ms. Hope King, Division of Viral Hepatitis, CDC

"Viral Hepatitis Prevention: Overview & Integration Projects"

Ms. Danni Lentine, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, CDC

"Triple Stigma: Race, HIV, and Drug Use"

Dr. Nick DeLuca, Division of TB Prevention, CDC

"Stop TB in the African-American Community"

Ms. Frances Ashe-Goins, Office of Women’s Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

"The Model Mentorship Program for Strengthening Organizational Capacity"

Meeting participants were assigned to four groups, each addressing a different focus area from the Heightened National Response action strategies. They then discussed the key factors contributing to the HIV/AIDS crisis among African American women and systematically identified and categorized areas for consideration and suggested priorities for their focus area (for a detailed summary of their discussions, see the Discussion Matrix beginning on page 10).

Participants were asked to address the following questions for their focus group:

Focus Area 1. Expanding the reach for prevention services

• What can be done to ensure that African American women receive appropriate and effective prevention services?

Focus Area 2. Increasing opportunities for diagnosing and treating HIV

• How we can increase the numbers of African American women who receive HIV testing?
• What can be done to make sure that HIV-infected African American women are linked to effective prevention, treatment and care services?

Focus Area 3. Developing new, effective prevention interventions

• What additional research questions and strategies should be considered in developing effective interventions for African American women?
• How can community-based service providers contribute to the development of effective risk-reduction interventions for African American women?

Focus Area 4. Mobilizing broader community action

• How can we increase community support for HIV testing, diagnosis, and treatment?
• What is the role of African American women’s organizations in addressing the HIV prevention needs of African American women?

In accordance with Dr. Fenton’s charge to the group to consider co-factors, co-morbidities, and the need to consolidate prevention efforts and strategies, the meeting agenda was modified to facilitate a large group discussion to identify and recommend salient strategies for addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis among African American women across a broad spectrum (for the complete meeting agenda, see Appendix B). The following question was asked of the larger group:

• What are the co-morbidities for HIV and how do they affect African American women?

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