The Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force will assemble the region's top experts to discuss the state of care available for those suffering with HIV/AIDS in southwestern Pennsylvania.

The first of its kind in the region, the panel discussion Tuesday will focus on service gaps, barriers and unmet needs identified by the Southwestern PA Regional HIV Needs Assessment, a survey completed by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health for the task force.

The panel discussion will be held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in The Rivers Club, Oxford Centre, 301 Grant St., Downtown.

Kathi Boyle, PATF executive director, said her organization commissioned the assessment to get "a deeper understanding of the needs of those living with HIV/AIDS, and how services addressed those needs.

"Second, we needed to identify the barriers that keep people from getting into care and staying in care, which also will help reduce the spread of HIV."

The panel also will note the medical and social resources available regionwide to help people with the disease. PATF said the Pittsburgh region is a leader in HIV/AIDS research.

Still considered a terminal illness, AIDS is now treated as a chronic disease. Challenges include coping with medical, social, economic and emotional needs of patients, along with employment, housing, substance-abuse and mental-health assistance issues, PATF officials said.

The Graduate School of Public Health surveyed 320 HIV-positive people in 12 counties in the region. It found that one in five people said living with HIV was difficult, while only 30 percent said their general health was good or excellent.

Many said the stigma of HIV and the community's lack of knowledge about it makes seeking care more difficult. One in five said dental care and transportation needs were unmet, while 8 percent said they didn't have a medical provider specializing in HIV. One-third said they lacked health insurance.

"We hope that by convening the area's leaders that people will understand the HIV/AIDS is still a problem in our community, not just in Africa," Ms. Boyle said. "We also plan to discuss strategies to meet the growing and evolving needs of those struggling to live with HIV/AIDS."