HIV

Black women have some of the highest new infection rates regionally and nationally, and many still face systemic barriers in receiving the health care they need to live healthy and normal lives.

Black women have some of the highest new HIV infection rates in Kansas City and nationally. Many of them face discrimination, stigmas and systemic barriers in receiving the health care they need to live healthy lives.

A federal judge ruled Thursday that insurers should not have to cover some preventive care screenings, including for lung and skin cancer.

A federal judge in Texas who previously ruled to dismantle the Affordable Care Act struck down a key part of the law that requires most insurers cover some preventive care such as cancer screenings and HIV prevention drugs. Opponents say the ruling jeopardizes preventive care for millions of Americans.

The FDA banned donations entirely during the HIV epidemic in the early 1980s when little was known about AIDS. But the risk of transfusion-related transmission hasn’t been a real concern for decades. Kansas City University professor Dr. Benjamin Grin says the government’s holdout on changing guidelines is in part because of a lingering stigma.

The United States recorded its first case of AIDS in 1981. On World AIDS Day, a survivor and a physician discuss how public perception and treatment of the disease has changed over 40 years.

Care from a clinic or hospital accounts for about 20% of a person's health, while the other 80% is affected by the community that surrounds them. That's why one medical school professor is teaching medical students about social determinants.

Existing syringe exchange programs in St. Louis and Kansas City, allowing drug users to swap out used syringes with new clean ones to help fight diseases like HIV, have functioned for decades in a "grey area" of the law.

In their memoir "All Boys Aren't Blue," the author shares experiencing everything from bullying to a loving grandmother to their earliest sexual relationships.

Gov. Mike Parson signed a law on Wednesday that reduces the penalty for those convicted of transmitting HIV to another person.

Exclusion of affordable housing from President Biden's plan has the Missouri congressman unable to commit his support, one Kansas City nonprofit is improving health outcomes for Black LGBTQ residents, and a festival featuring only female directors calls North Kansas City home.

BlaqOut KC, founded with the mission of eradicating HIV/AIDS from the local Black community, will open a physical safe space for Black LGBTQ residents.