“If you know your HIV status, you can protect yourself and others,” said Ryan Combs, PhD, MA, assistant professor, University of Louisville School of Public Health & Information Sciences and Commonwealth Institute of Kentucky scholar. “Everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 should get tested for HIV at least once. If you are HIV positive, there are treatments that can help you live a long and healthy life.”

Combs, along with other public health faculty and students, community members, and health care and public health professionals, developed the ‘We’re in Control Now’ campaign, utilizing community-based participatory research. Residents are invited to join the conversation on social media using #CTRLNow.

The messages, communicated through radio ads, posters in West Louisville bus shelters and social media, encourages members of the African American community to seek out free HIV testing through the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, 502-574-5600, or Volunteers of America, 502-635-4505.

“People living with HIV are valued members of the community. In some ways, HIV stigma can be worse than the disease itself,” Combs said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 1 in 20 African American men will be affected by HIV compared to 1 in 132 White men, and an estimated 1 in 48 African American women will experience HIV compared to 1 in 880 White women.

HIV is one of several topics Combs and his research team have explored since 2017 as part of the health literacy research project funded through the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence. Other topics include .Ìę

The HIV campaign continues through Feb. 7, National African American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. It also coincides with various events throughout Louisville, including the HIV Monologues on Feb. 9 at Hotel Louisville. The event is an outgrowth of UofL’s Cooperative Consortium for Transdisciplinary Social Justice Research initiative that worked with actors and a group of older HIV positive African Americans to develop monologues focusing on the experiences of the HIV positive. For more information, .

Scott is one of five community members, along with health experts, psychologists and UofL faculty with expertise in health disparities, who helped design a health literacy campaign that began Nov. 14. The ‘Depression is Real’ campaign is aimed at helping African Americans in West Louisville find help for depression, a common but serious mental health condition. The effort will include radio ads, posters, TARC ads, website and social media posts, along with a public outreach component at grocery stores, churches and community centers.

“We know one in 10 African Americans struggle with depression; those with few resources are particularly susceptible due to mental health disparities like persistent discrimination, physiological and psychological stress and sometimes clinician implicit bias,” said Ryan Combs, PhD, MA, an assistant professor for the Commonwealth Institute of Kentucky, an entity of the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences.

Combs says health literacy is a critical factor for good health, and affects a person’s ability to navigate health services and make appropriate health decisions. He says the campaign messaging developed through community-based participatory research hopes to raise awareness and understanding of depression among West Louisville residents and improve outcomes for those living with depression. The key messages are: depression is real; you don’t have to suffer; you are not alone; and there are options to help you get better. The ads direct individuals to call 2-1-1, a phone line through Metro United Way dedicated to connecting people to needed services.

Scott says although she experienced depression for several months during her time of grief, it was her faith and church, along with her work in a labor and delivery unit at a local hospital, that helped her regain joy.

Although Scott recovered without the help of a health care provider, she understands that sometimes it is needed. But, she says it can be difficult for those in the African American community to seek help.

“Sometimes Black people are afraid to ask, we can be suspicious at times to even allow others to know we are struggling,” she said.

Scott says she hopes people facing depression will see the campaign messages and talk to someone who can help.

Depression is one of several topics Combs and his team will explore through the end of 2017 as part of the health literacy research project funded through the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence. The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness also is a partner on the ‘Depression is Real’ campaign, which runs through Dec. 25.