On June 25, 2009, the Miami-Dade County Health Department rolled out an ambitious initiative to educate health care providers, at-risk communities and pregnant women about the importance of HIV testing as a routine part of care. The campaign called "TEST MIAMI" was introduced at a press conference hosted by Honorary Chairperson, President Donna Shalala, University of Miami and moderated by Charles Perez, WPLG, ABC Evening News Anchor.
TEST MIAMI is a collaborative community health inaugural event that can serve as a model to other Florida counties. Tom Liberti, Chief, Florida Department of Health, Bureau of HIV/AIDS spoke passionately about the impact that HIV and AIDS continues to have on the citizens of Florida and his hope that the TEST MIAMI model will spread throughout the state.
In Miami, women are most severely affected by HIV/AIDS. Heterosexual contact is a dominant mode of transmission. In 2008, women accounted for 30% of reported AIDS cases and 24% of HIV cases. Black females represent 75% of reported AIDS cases in that year and 71% among HIV cases. Regardless of race/ethnicity increased risk for HIV and AIDS can also be related to poverty, unemployment, financial dependence of their partners, lack of health insurance, homelessness and other social and economic factors.
The Primary Objective of the TEST MIAMI initiative is to promote the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006 recommendation of HIV testing as part of routine clinical care in all health care settings.
The goals of TEST MIAMI:
1. Routine HIV testing in all health-care settings.
2. Encourage individuals to know their HIV status and seek treatment if needed.
3. Eliminate perinatal transmission.
The Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center (F/C AETC) and the Perinatal HIV Transmission Prevention Project at the USF Center for HIV Education and Research were proud to support the TEST MIAMI initiative by providing educational materials developed specifically for providers in the Miami-Dade area. Non-area specific copies of the WHY TEST? pocket cards and other educational tools are available through our web site at www.faetc.org/Prevention_Program or by contacting the F/C AETC office at 813 974-4430.