Spending more on social services and public health - such as education and income support - may significantly lower HIV/AIDS case rates and cause fewer deaths linked to the infection, a new US study has claimed.
Researchers from Yale Global Health Leadership Institute (GHLI) reviewed data between 2000 and 2009 from all 50 states in US regarding HIV/AIDS case rates and AIDS related deaths.
They found that states with higher spending on social services and public health - such as education and income support - per person living in poverty had significantly lower HIV/AIDS case rates and fewer AIDS related deaths.
This is the first study to establish a significant association between state-level social services investments and clinical health outcomes for people at risk of HIV infection or for those living with HIV/AIDS.
"Our findings highlight the potentially critical importance of spending on social services as an element of HIV prevention and treatment to reduce HIV/AIDS diagnoses and AIDS deaths. It is interesting to see how much HIV, a virus, is affected by social determinants," said Kristina Talbert-Slagle from Yale GHLI.
"We need to do something different to reach those people who are not being treated and to generally prevent new infections. Perhaps analysing where money is being spent is the start for new ways to address HIV," Talbert-Slagle added.
The findings underscore the importance of social factors in affecting health outcomes both for people at risk of becoming infected with HIV and for those living with HIV or AIDS, researchers said.
The findings were published in the journal AIDS.
