This book examines the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States using the concept of syndemics to contextualize the risk of both well-known, and a few lesser-known, subpopulations that experience disproportionately high rates of HIV and/or AIDS within the United States. Since discovery, HIV/AIDS has exposed a number of social, psychological, and biological aspects of disease transmission. The concept of syndemics, or synergistically interacting epidemics has emerged as a powerful framework for understanding both the epidemiological patterns and the myriad of problems associated with HIV/AIDS around the world and within the United States. The book considers the disparities in HIV/AIDS in relation to social aspects, risk behavior and critical illness comorbidities. It updates and enhances our understanding of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States and contributes to the expanding literature on the role of syndemics in shaping the publics health.

Chapter 1. Understanding the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the United States: The Role of Syndemics in Shaping the Publics Health; Eric R. Wright, Neal Carnes, and Matthew Colón-Diaz.- Chapter 2.An Historical Overview of the Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in the United States; Jamal Jones and Laura Salazar.- Chapter 3. Gay Men and Men Who Have Sex with Men: Intersectionality and Syndemics; Neal Carnes.- Chapter 4. The Role of Syndemic in Explaining Health Disparities among Bisexual Men: A Blueprint for a Theoretically Informed Perspective; Mackey Friedman and Brian Dodge.- Chapter 5. Its Not Just about Condoms and Sex: Using Syndemic Theory to Examine Social Risks of HIV among Transgender Women; Dana Hines and Maura Ryan.- Chapter 6.The Social, Structural, and Clinical Context of HIV Prevention and Care for Black/African American and Hispanic Women/Latinas in the United States; Tiffiany Aholou, Ashley Murray, and Madeline Sutton.- Chapter 7. Sex Workers; Paul Draus and Juliette Roddy.- Chapter 8. A Syndemic Approach to Understanding HIV/AIDS among People Who Inject Drugs in the U.S.; Enrique Pouget and Alex Bennett.- Chapter 9. Understanding the Syndemic Connections between HIV and Incarceration among African American Men, especially African American Men Who Have Sex with Men; Erin McCarthy, Janet Myers, Keith Reeves, and Barry Zach.- Chapter 10. People with Serious Mental Illness; Karen McKinnon, Katherine Elkington, Francine Cournos, Veronica Pinho, Mark Guimaraes, and Milton Wainberg.- Chapter 11. HIV Housing Helps End Homelessness and HIV/AIDS in the United States; Julie Hilvers, Christine George, and Arturo Bendixen.- Chapter 12. The Potential and Limitations of Syndemic Theory in HIV/AIDS; Neal Carnes and Eric R. Wright.