Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has grown into an epidemic that has spun out of control and grown into something that needs to be addressed in a manner that everyone will finally agree that this situation has to be remedied. No longer can HIV be viewed as a way to ostracize those who most need help, nor should it be seen as a method to suppress those of lower socioeconomic status and of minority background, which so far combined, are the groups with the highest rate of HIV infection (Downer, 2009).
In order for anything to change with the HIV situation in the world, a way of dealing with this issue in a calm rational manner needs to be established. Currently, there are individuals living with HIV that have not been receiving the proper care to address their needs and their particular situation (Downer, 2009). My public health vision for the HIV situation that we are currently facing would be to raise awareness of not just the severity of the issue, because I think that that has been made quite clear, but of the vision associated with the disease. On a public health world spectrum, HIV is viewed with notions of filth,...
All though those views of what HIV is has actually gone down in comparison to how they were previously (Millett et al., 2009) they still need to be worked on so that individuals could be seen as victims of unfortunate circumstances, instead of being blamed for having the disease in the first place. There should be no sense of blame nor shame in a disease that could be controlled better now more than ever (Hall et al., 2009).
The outcome goals of an awareness campaign would focus less on what needs to be done to remedy a situation, and more on what has already been done to bring control to something that was once seen as an immediate death sentence. Changing the minds of millions of people, who see HIV as a problem not directly affecting them, would be one of the main goals of my vision. Bringing awareness on how the help and contribution of millions of people could eventually bring people together to battle the HIV epidemic would be the preferred outcome goal of an HIV campaign.
Unfortunately, there are more barriers than facilitators in any…
