Issues surrounding sexuality can be a difficult topic for many people to openly discuss, but additional cultural barriers can make talking about subjects like HIV/AIDS almost impossible to broach.
The Asian Pacific American community includes more than 100 languages/dialects and some 45 different ethnic subgroups, complicating the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
It is three in the morning and Philip, 27, wakes up from a nightmare that he soon forgets. Vivid dreams and dizziness are recurring experiences, side effects he attributes to taking Atripla, a pill he consumes daily because he has AIDS.
Currently, more than 4,000 people of Asian descent are living with HIV/AIDS in California. But some healthcare workers say cultural values and pressures in the community often complicate dealing with the disease.