Surviving HIV/AIDS in the Inner City: How Resourceful Latinas Beat the Odds

226 Pages·2011·0.695 MB·English

by  Sabrina Marie Chase

Surviving HIV/AIDS in the Inner City
Studies in Medical Anthropology
Edited by
Mac Marshall
Advisory Board
William Dressler
Sue E. Estroff
Peter Guarnaccia
Alan Harwood
Craig R. Janes
Sharon Kaufman
Lynn Morgan
Catherine Panter-Brick
Stacy Leigh Pigg
Lorna Rhodes
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Surviving HIV/AIDS
in the Inner City
How Resourceful Latinas
Beat the Odds
SABRINA MARIE CHASE
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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, AND LONDON
The cover photograph, which depicts a model, is used for illustrative purposes only.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Chase, Sabrina Marie.
Surviving HIV/AIDS in the inner city : how resourceful Latinas beat the odds /
Sabrina Marie Chase.
p. ; cm. — (Studies in medical anthropology)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–8135–4892–0(hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978–0–8135–4937–8
(pbk. : alk. paper)
1. HIV-positive women—New Jersey—Newark—Case studies. 2. AIDS (Disease) in
women—New Jersey—Newark—Case studies. 3. Puerto Rican women—Diseases—
New Jersey—Newark—Case studies. 1. Title. 11. Series: Studies in medical
anthropology.
[DNLM: 1. HIV Infections—ethnology—New Jersey. 2. HIV Infections—psychology—
New Jersey. 3. Healthcare Disparities—New Jersey. 4. Hispanic Americans—
psychology—New Jersey. 5. Urban Health Services—New Jersey. 6. Women’s
Health—ethnology—New Jersey. WC 503.7C487s 2011]
RA643.84.N49C43 2011
362.196(cid:2)979200974932—dc22 2010013762
A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available
from the British Library.
Copyright © 2011by Sabrina Marie Chase
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 100
Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854–8099. The only exception to this
prohibition is “fair use” as defined by U.S. copyright law.
Visit our Web site: http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu
Manufactured in the United States of America
For Nini

CONTENTS
List of Figures and Tables ix
Acknowledgments xi
List of Abbreviations xv
1 Torn between Structure and Agency 1
2 Resourceful Women 21
3 Unpacking Newark’s Epidemic 61
4 Understanding HIV 89
5 Managing Social Services 111
6 Working the Clinics 129
7 Taking Care of Yourself 146
8 Learning from Resourceful Women 164
Epilogue: Sorrows and Joys 173
Reference List 189
Index 201
vii

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
Figures
2.1. Education Level 56
2.2. Risk Factors for HIV 56
5.1. Strong Social Service Alliances 127
6.1. Strong Clinician Alliances 143
7.1. Symptoms, Side Effects, and Acute Hospitalizations by
Cultural-Capital Category 161
7.2. Strong Support Group Alliances 161
8.1. Ability to Form Strong Alliances 165
8.2. Success by Cultural-Capital Category 167
Tables
2.1. Women by Cultural-Capital Category 23
2.2. Risk Factors for HIV 24
2.3. Overview of Women 55
ix