In the spring of 2007, the Diversity Specialty Committee
of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
(ANAC) issued a call for proposals for a preconference
on racially/ethnically diverse communities to
be held before the annual 2007 ANAC conference
in Orlando, Florida. Following on the success of the
2006 preconference on HIV in the African American
community, the Diversity Committee was eager to
continue enhancing awareness of the needs of ethnic
minority populations in the context of HIV infection.
Working closely with the support of this committee,
a proposal was submitted that was accepted by the
ANAC board of directors for a preconference on Hispanics
and HIV (‘‘Our Lives, Our Health and Our
Community: The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Hispanics’’
[‘‘Neuestras Vidas, Nuestra Salud, y Neutras
Comunidad: El Impactode VIH/SIDA en Los Hispanos’’],
course director: J. P. De Santis)..
This themed issue was conceived at the ANAC
preconference in November 2007. The preconference
faculty included nationally recognized experts in Hispanic
health care from across the nation who