Education: Where to Start
Learning about HIV connects science with people’s lives: how the virus works, how we talk about it, what care can achieve, and how communities have shaped the response. Start with a question that matters to you, then follow the related guides below.
For current options and practical next steps, visit the Prevention Hub, Treatment Hub, or Policy Hub. For quick answers or longer reading, use the HIV FAQ or Learning Hub.
↑ Back to navigationHIV Basics & Everyday Questions
A useful starting point is understanding what HIV is, how it is and is not transmitted, and what testing can tell you. These guides connect those foundations with common questions about prevention and related health topics. If you are concerned about a recent exposure, the PEP card takes you directly to time-sensitive guidance.
For local HIV services and Florida-specific resources, use the care locator or read the Florida guide.
Language, Stigma & Respect
Words shape how people living with HIV are seen — and how safe they feel getting tested, starting treatment, and telling the people they trust. Respectful language, an understanding of stigma, and listening to people living with HIV belong together. These guides offer words to use, space for disclosure and mental-health questions, and the community principles behind that approach.
Respectful Language: A Quick Reference
Language around HIV carries decades of stigma, and stigma keeps people from testing, from care, and from living openly. Person-first language puts the person before the diagnosis and avoids words that blame or shame. This approach follows the UNAIDS Terminology Guidelines[9] and the CDC's Health Equity Guiding Principles for Inclusive Communication[10], both of which recommend language that is accurate, non-judgmental, and centers the person rather than the virus.
| ✅ Say This | ❌ Not This |
|---|---|
| "Person living with HIV" or "people living with HIV" | "HIV victim," "HIV-infected," "AIDS patient" |
| "Acquired HIV" | "Caught" or "contracted" HIV, "infected with" HIV |
| "HIV-negative" or "HIV status unknown" | "Clean" (implies the opposite is "dirty") |
| "Person who injects drugs" | "Junkie," "addict," "IV drug user" |
| "Condomless sex" | "Unsafe sex" or "unprotected sex" — in the era of U=U and PrEP, condomless sex is not automatically unsafe |
| "Died of an AIDS-related illness" | "Died of AIDS" — AIDS itself is a diagnosis stage, not the cause of death |
| "Undetectable = Untransmittable" or "has an undetectable viral load" | "Clean" or "safe" used as a stand-in for undetectable |
| "Sex worker" | "Prostitute" |
Treatment, U=U & Staying in Care
Understanding HIV care means learning both what treatment can achieve and what helps people stay connected to care. The guides below bring together treatment as prevention, the path from diagnosis to viral suppression, and the practical support that makes that path reachable.
U=U & Treatment
Undetectable = Untransmittable. Learn what sustained viral suppression means for sexual transmission. For treatment choices and care planning, visit the Treatment Hub. These resources explain the science and offer a starting point after diagnosis.
The HIV Care Continuum & Support
From diagnosis to viral suppression — the five steps of the care cascade, and why people fall through the gaps at every one of them. Diagnosis → Linkage → Retention → ART → Viral Suppression. Explore how these steps fit together and how stigma, housing, insurance, transportation, and other barriers can interrupt care. Read about care barriers and the programs that support ongoing treatment.
People, Communities & Access
HIV does not affect all communities equally, and people’s experiences cannot be reduced to a diagnosis or a statistic. These guides connect lived experience with the structural conditions that shape prevention and care. Start with the perspectives that matter to you; many people belong to more than one of these communities.
Women & HIV
Women account for about 18–19% of new HIV diagnoses in the US[13] — and are among the most underserved in HIV prevention, research, and care. Read across women-centered care, perinatal experience, and affirming care for transgender women.
Race, Culture & Belonging
Language access, cultural understanding, community trust, and the services available close to home all shape people’s experiences of care. These guides look at structural inequities and community responses through Black, Latino/Hispanic, Indigenous, and faith perspectives.
Sexuality & Community
The LGBTQ+ community includes different identities and experiences. Read the broader community guide alongside the guide for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men; each brings its own questions about prevention, treatment, dignity, and access.
Age, Place & Service
Age, geography, and military service can shape where someone finds information, support, and care. These guides connect young people’s questions, the South and rural Florida, and the experiences of service members and veterans.
When we cite statistics — from CDC, HIV.gov, HRSA, UNAIDS, KFF, AIDSVu, or others — we do so to show where the healthcare system is falling short, not to describe who anyone is. Behind every number on this page is a person: a neighbor, a partner, a parent, a friend.
We disaggregate data by race, gender, region, and age when the primary source does, because that is how inequities become visible and addressable. We name the source and reporting year for every major figure, and we use person-first language even inside the statistic — for example, "Black communities make up 12% of the U.S. population and 38% of people newly diagnosed with HIV in 2023," not "38% of new infections are Black."
This mirrors the Denver Principles (1983) — people living with HIV are not victims, patients, or statistics. Read the full editorial standards on our disclaimer page.
History & Activism
Understanding where we've been is inseparable from understanding where we are. The HIV epidemic was shaped by science, by community, by grief — and by people who refused to be silent.
Rights, Housing & Criminalization
People living with HIV have strong legal protections under federal law. Knowing your rights is part of staying healthy — and knowing when those rights are being violated. These guides connect the national and Florida criminalization landscape with immigration, housing, and sex-work experiences. Use them to understand the questions to bring to an advocate and the support that may be available.
Test Your Knowledge
Choose an activity to practice what you have learned: HIV knowledge, myths and facts, questions from across the site, or true/false statements. Each has 20 questions and an 80% passing score. Open one at a time; your progress stays here when you switch.
🧠HIV Knowledge Quiz
Answer 20 questions about prevention, testing, treatment, and U=U. Your score is calculated on this page only. You need 80% to pass; questions and answer choices are shuffled when you retry.
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❌HIV Myths & Facts
Decide whether each statement is a myth or a fact. There are 20 statements; the order changes when you retry. You need 80% (16 of 20 correct) to pass.
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Have a myth we should add?
Somebody in your life is asking about it right now. Send it to us — real people, real answers — and we'll consider it for the next update.
Submit a myth →🧭Multiple Choice: Across the Site
Answer 20 multiple-choice questions from across the site, including HIV history, community, rights, care programs, housing, wellness, and related health topics. Each question includes a Learn More link and an authoritative source. You need 80% to pass; the questions and answer choices are shuffled when you retry.
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☑True or False Challenge
A 20-question scored review using True/False statements across HIV science and the broader site topics. Each retry mixes a fresh, balanced set. You need 80% to pass.
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Explore More Learning
Follow a topic into the full Learning Hub when you want more science, history, stories, or practical context. For program and public-policy questions, the Policy Hub brings the related resources together. You can return to these directories as new questions come up.
References & Sources
Every statistic on this page is sourced from federal surveillance data, peer-reviewed research, or the CDC, UNAIDS, and HIV.gov. Click any number in the text to jump here; click the ↩ to jump back.
- CDC. "HIV Testing and Youth" — 19% of new HIV diagnoses in 2021 were among young people aged 13–24. Link ↩
- UNAIDS. "Terminology Guidelines," 2015 (updated). Link ↩
- CDC. "Health Equity Guiding Principles for Inclusive Communication." Link ↩
- CDC / NIH. U=U evidence base — HPTN 052, PARTNER, and PARTNER2 studies found zero linked HIV transmissions from a virally suppressed partner. Link ↩
- HIV.gov. "Women and HIV" — women accounted for about 18–19% of new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. in 2023. Link ↩
- CDC / AIDSVu. 2023 surveillance data — Black Americans accounted for about 38% of new HIV diagnoses while representing about 12% of the U.S. population. Link ↩
- CDC 2023 HIV surveillance data — Latino/Hispanic people accounted for about 34% of new HIV diagnoses while representing about 18% of the U.S. population. Link ↩