Aids Essays (Examples)

AIDS in Afica

HIV / AIDS in Africa

An Overview of how this Terrible Disease has Rampaged the Population in Africa and what might be done about it in the Future.

The spread of AIDS has reached epidemic proportions on the African Continent. There are many factors that can be attributed to the spread of this phenomenon. Lack of modern health care facilities and trained medical professionals is often cited as a cause as well as a source that hinders modern treatment options for infected Africans. However, this is only one factor among several and other third world nations have avoided the AIDS epidemic. Another factor that is at play is the lack of education about the disease and its method of transmission. This factor especially affects young women who generally know little about family planning or how to practice safe sex. Finally, another major factor that will be discussed…

A hemophiliac, young Ryan had contracted the disease through the infusion of blood resources that had long served as his life force; and then that life force, infected with HIV, failed him (Levitt & Rosenthal, 1999). As the young boy bravely faced the demons of the ravaging disease, friends, relatives and outpourings of public support and love marked his journey. Surrounded by his family, and new friends like the rock star Elton John, Ryan, like so many others lost his battle to AIDS.

Sociologically devastating, HIV / AIDS has, by its recession from a pandemic affliction in the United States, to a condition that responds to treatment, although treatment does not constitute a cure; has left a new condition in its wake. This new condition is what persists in the present and third phase of the disease; hundreds of thousands afflicted with a disease that because of treatments allows people…

According to Lisam & Lisam (2009), the need for doctor's advice is also fueled by the constant emergence and experiment of new and different medicines for HIV and AIDS (p. 269).

Problems Associated with Diarrhea Caused by HIV Medications:

For people living with HIV / AIDS, the negative impacts of drugs and food intake and the impact of drugs on metabolism, excretion, and absorption of nutrients may have considerable negative effects on their nutritional status. Most of the existing antiretroviral medications can contribute to fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, gastroesophageal reflux, vomiting, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia. Generally, the disease causes the deterioration of the lining of the gut which in turn affects the ability of the gut to digest and absorb food. This contributes to the inability of the gut to absorb or take up nutrients from the eaten foods i.e. mal-absorption that causes diarrhea through which nutrients and water are lost…

HIV / AIDS

Autoimmune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) first came to the public's attention in the United States in the early 1980s. In Africa, the cities of wanda, Zaire, Zambia and Uganda were decimated, and cases began cropping up all over the world. In rare blood samples dating back to 1959, antibodies to HIV were detected (Crowley, 1993, p. 46), and yet the virus did not seem to become a problem until twenty years later.

It is not known how the virus carried by chimpanzees and harmless to them, was transmitted to the human population. According to Chang (2011), it is most likely that a hunter in West Africa killed a chimpanzee and was infected by the chimp's blood, probably through an open wound. The virus spread as colonial cities were established, but deaths were attributed to other causes. It is unknown exactly when this scenario occurred, but it is thought…

In other words, people become so depressed and fall into such a state of despair upon hearing that they have HIV that their immune system is weakened, which is the real cause of developing AIDS. Null blames doctors for creating a self-fulfilling prophesy in the mindset of people diagnosed with the illness, even in the minds of children. He believes that children who do not understand what causes various types of cancer, for example, have become so media-saturated that they have come to see HIV positive status as a death sentence. But worst and most commonly of all, gay men, already living a self-destructive lifestyle of promiscuity, drugs, and other risky behavior, wear out their immune syndromes even faster after being diagnosed with HIV, once they fear that they are fated to die from the illness at a young age.

Many gay men early in the epidemic had already been…

AIDS in Urban, Black America

THE AIDS EPIDEMIC IN URBAN, BLACK AMERICA

Most people think of the AIDS epidemic as something that happens only in Africa, and they do not realize how many people in this country must struggle with the disease. The problem with AIDS in this country is not confined to one gender, age group, sexual preference, or race, but urban, black communities do have a much larger number of AIDS cases than other populations. The purpose of this paper is to discuss this issue and interlock three specific issues that deal with this epidemic. There are three specific points that are hypothesized in this paper:

The first hypothesis is that this problem affects families, economies, and communities that are largely urban and black, in that the effects of the AIDS virus and deaths from it devastate much of what is needed to keep these areas alive.

The…

Some people are of the view that, since AIDS-infected countries are financially unstable, they are unable to purchase expensive AIDS drugs which contributes to steady growth of the disease. "More than 40 million people are infected with HIV and more than 3 million have died in 2003, UNAIDS reported last week. WHO estimates more than 5 million HIV patients need anti-retroviral drugs, but fewer than 400,000 currently have access to them." (WHO)

Since only a small percentage of patients have access to high-priced AIDS drugs, it is obvious why the rate of disease expansion hasn't decreased. But there are several political factors affecting the drug prices too. In recent months, both UN AIDS agency and WHO have taken concrete measures to address the issue of high drug prices. Their initiative led to a more effective low-priced AIDS drug that is a combination of three anti-retroviral drugs. These drugs are likely…

In addition, the state sponsors numerous community-based organizations and local county health departments that use evidence-based prevention interventions (AIDS surveillance data, 2012). The Florida State Department of Health reports that, "Evidence-based interventions are grounded in behavior change theory and have been proven scientifically to have significant impact on changing behavior, when implemented correctly. HIV / AIDS prevention agencies are funded through the department's HIV Prevention grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Closing the Gap (CTG) initiative through the Office of Minority Health" (AIDS surveillance data, 2012, para. 13).

In addition, another program that has been used in Florida for several years for senior citizens at risk for AIDS or who are suffering from AIDS is the Senior HIV Intervention Project (SHIP) (Agate, Mullins, Prudent, & Liberti, 2003). According to Agate and his associates, "SHIP encourages doctors to obtain a full sexual risk assessment from…

AIDS in America

AIDS is a devastating disease that has ravaged our world over the past twenty years. The issue of AIDS in America is one of much debate that continues to challenge the medical community. The purpose of this discussion is to examine the epidemic of AIDS in America. Our research will provide an in depth analysis of the most infected portion of our society and the tactics that are being implemented to stop the disease from spreading. Let's begin our discussion by defining the disease known as AIDS.

Definition of AIDS

According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine,

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is an infectious disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It was first recognized in the United States in 1981. AIDS is the advanced form of infection with the HIV virus, which may not cause disease for a long period after the initial…

But the challenges facing the current South African health minister are not simply political: "hereas HIV subtype B, the dominant subtype in western Europe and the U.S.A., continued to spread among men who have sex with men, HIV subtype C, the dominant subtype in Africa and Asia, started spreading in the general population in South Africa in about 1988. Between 1990 and 1994, there was an exponential increase in the prevalence of HIV infection" and Subtype C is now the dominant type of AIDS in the region (Karim 2009). According to the international AIDS charity AVERT: "Subtype C is predominant in Southern and East Africa, India and Nepal. It has caused the world's worst HIV epidemics and is responsible for around half of all infections" (AVERT, 2009)

Recent studies have indicated that HIV type C is more easily transmitted through heterosexual contact and "subtype C is more transmissible" overall than…

5% in 2008" (Smith, 2009). And yet, millions of children ("The lost generation") have been left orphaned by AIDS (AIDS eekly).

Speaking of South Africa, the AIDS eekly story (reporting on the Jim Lehrer NewsHour story written by Ray Suarez) points out that former South Africa President Thabo Mbeki, along with his health minister, spent years spreading "misinformation about the HIV virus), which clearly was part of the problem in South Africa. A situation in which people cannot trust their elected leaders to give them the truth about a terrible disease like HIV / AIDS is unconscionable and unacceptable. But now the new South African Minister of Health, Barbara Hogan, is "trying to contain a disease which has infected one of every 6 people in the country" (Suarez, 2009).

In the David Smith article (www.guardian.co.uk) the fact that 5.2 million South Africans were living with HIV in 2008 is "widely…

(High-isk Pregnancy). There is no doubt that AIDS is a world wide problem, which is why it has been referred to as a pandemic. It is estimated that in the time that this disease has been recorded millions of people have died ( HIV / AIDS). There are ongoing efforts to find scientific means of combating this disease. For example in 1983 the first blood test to detect exposure to HIV was developed by Dr. Luc Montagnier and obert Gallo (HIV / AIDS).

At present there is no vaccine for the virus and no known cure. Nevertheless, science has made considerable advances and various combinations of drugs have been developed and used which successfully retards the progress of the disease and improves the life quality of the patients. These include protease inhibitors, which are "…effective in interfering with reproduction of the virus and limiting the "viral load" or quantity of…

In addition, Halperin (1999) found that IDS prevention education aimed at heterosexuals continued to address vaginal-penile intercourse when heterosexual anal intercourse is responsible for more cases of heterosexual IDS outbreaks. Thus, the fact that IDS is a condition of the homosexual or heterosexual participating in vaginal-penile intercourse is a misconception that perpetuates stereotypes. Furthermore, Chin (2007) found that a person's number of sexual partners is not enough to create "epidemic sexual HIV transmission" (p. 163). In addition, Chin (2007) argues that many organizations believe a prevention program is necessary, or HIV will quickly spread into general populations where its numbers are "currently low" (p. 163). Chin's (2007) argument, however, is that this is a misconception, and there is no reason to believe that IDS will break into non-affected populations. Thus, many statements that perpetuate stereotypes about HIV are actually misconceptions, proved incorrect by the scientific literature.

great number of people…

There are various blood tests used to detect HIV, of which the most frequently used is enzyme immunoassay, and if the presence of antibodies is detected, the blood is further tested with the estern blot method (AIDS). A test that measure the viral genes in the blood is has proven helpful in assessing treatment efficacy (AIDS). Although there is no cure for AIDS, there are a number of drugs available, such as AZT, ddl, and 3TC which are reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and have shown to be effective in delaying the onset of symptoms in certain subsets of infected individuals (AIDS). Moreover, adding a protease inhibitor, such as saquinovir, amprenavir, or atazanavir to AZT and 3TC has proven effective, however this combination does not eliminate the virus (AIDS). Another type of reverse transcriptase inhibitor, efavirenz must be taken with protease inhibitors or older forms of AIDS medicines (AIDS). Subsequent infections may…

Specifically, the author mentions childhood diseases, maternal health, and the three diseases HIV / AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as the major areas of focus for health care funding in developing countries. Because of the major impact of these conditions, the author notes that the best approach is to target these directly, even if it does impact upon more general primary care structures. The very "fabric of society" is being affected by such conditions, and especially by the HIV / AIDS pandemic; hence the importance of controlling these first.

Proponents of general primary care programs note that the problem with an exclusive focus on major issues like HIV / AIDS is the fact that they often take account only of global infection and mortality figures, as mentioned above, without regard to the specific health concerns as presented on a local scale (Harzhem et al. 2006). While it is helpful and desirable…

AIDS

Abraham Verghese treated patients with AIDS before the medical community knew that the HIV virus precipitated the deadly disease. Although his book My Own Country contains a slew of inspiring and poignant case studies, Verghese's earliest cases are the most engaging and informative. Because so little was known about AIDS when Verghese first started treating his patients, the doctor dealt with both limited medical resources and the prejudices that surrounded his patients. I was particularly affected by the case of Gordon Vine, Verghese's first real AIDS patient. Tony Capellucci, his first gay patient, probably also had HIV / AIDS but was not properly diagnosed. Gordon Vine's story shows not only how difficult it was for Verghese to treat the various symptoms of AIDS, but also how hard it was for him to earn the support of his fellow doctors and nurses. Furthermore, Gordon's case illustrates Verghese's personal, genuinely caring…

AIDS and Its Metaphors ook y Susan Sontag

In many ways, Susan Sontag's work of non-fiction entitled AIDS and Its Metaphors helps to deconstruct some of the fallacies surrounding this disease, while presenting it in its proper medical context. To that end the predominant theme of this work is the identifying and analyzing the realities and misconceptions regarding the many metaphors that are applied to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The author is able to denote approximately four or five commonly used metaphors that relate to AIDS, and underscores their social and medical relevance for those who are involved with this deadly epidemic. The manuscript was originally published in the 1980s, when the perception of AIDS was still relatively novel and intensely terrifying for most of the population in the Western hemispheres.

One of the chief points of benefit of this work is its structure, which is extremely lucid and…

AIDS and Dating

This will be an opinion sheet on the r-strategists and k-strategists as they apply to the current aids epidemic and dating.

In the good-ole days, American society used to be staunch k-strategists in regard to dating and the sexual revolution. Dating was controlled and marriage was the ideal type of relationship for the masses. The k-strategy of one woman per man and a single family unit were okay and all was good. Just look at television from the fifty's and it is obvious that socially the k-strategy was accepted. Shows like Father Knows Best or Ozzie & Harriet with the 'Beave' reigned supreme. Aid's was a none entity and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD's) were thought happen to only to the raunchiest of people.

Then along came the discovery of antibiotics and the control of the STD's. Wow, the United States and the world saw free love and…

They found a greater risk that appears to be greater among males than females.

As noted above, these researchers also recommend that clinicians of HIV-infected patients inquire about well-known modifiable cancer risk factors. For instance, the people who smoke cigarettes, which results in many types of cancer, are known to be higher among the HIV-infected numbers. AIDS patients should also be very careful on maintaining a well-balanced nutritional diet (Shiels). Doctors who treat AIDS patients should discuss such issues early on in the disease stage with the patients, it is recommended by the researchers.

Although researchers are unaware of the reasons why AIDS patients have such a higher degree of developing some cancers, there are several theories for their higher susceptibility, such as the increased life expectancy due to antiretroviral drugs; weakened immune systems and the likelihood of increased high-risk behaviors as smoking. Some researchers even question if antiretrovirals could…

Some of the illnesses linked with AIDS can be prevented or cured through other treatments ("hat is the difference" par, 5).

Symptoms of HIV / AIDS:

Depending on the phase of the infection, the symptoms of HIV and AIDS vary. In early HIV infection, a person may have no signs or symptoms at all. Nonetheless, a person may develop a brief (two to four-week) flu-like illness when first infected with HIV. The signs and symptoms in this phase of infection include fever, sore throat, headache, rash and swollen lymph glands. It's also important to note that someone is still able to transmit the virus to others even when he/she doesn't have any symptoms.

In the later phase of infection, an infected person may remain symptom-free for close to nine years or more ("Symptoms" par, 3). As the virus continues to multiply and destroy the immune cells in this phase, the…

AIDS/HIV

AIDS is the acronym for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, a human viral disease that affects and destroys the immune system. It is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and leaves an infected person vulnerable to opportunistic infections. No cure has as yet been found for AIDS and is invariably fatal once the infection is full blown although certain treatments can prolong the life spans and improve the quality of life of infected people. In this essay we shall describe the disease process, clinical symptoms, diagnosis, etiology, and the treatments available. e shall also briefly discuss how the disease is transmitted and its prevalence in different categories of people, e.g., gays and heterosexuals; men and women; adults and children.

The Disease Process

As we have observed in the introduction AIDS is caused by HIV. The disease process (from the time the HIV enters the body to the full-blown development of…

Recent reports released by UNAIDS has confirmed the fact that Nevirapine treatment is still beyond the reach for 90% of HIV infected pregnant women. [Elizabeth Glacier Pediatric AIDS Foundation]

Government Initiative

It goes without saying that the commitment and active participation of the government are vital in containing the rapid outbreak of the disease. Political, religious and infrastructural predicaments have been the main reasons for the uncontrolled spread of AIDS in Africa. Religious inhibitions have also restrained some governments from undertaking a transparent approach in discussing sexual hygiene and implementing sex education at school level. However the success stories of Uganda and Senegal, two African countries, where the government undertook educational initiatives (behavioral modification) and actively promoted safe sex methods, serve to show the importance of a transparent, direct and timely intervention. In Uganda the HIV infection rates among pregnant women has dropped from 21.1% in 1991 to 6.1% in…

Adherence to Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) in Home-Based Care
Introduction
UNAIDS HIV/AIDS statistics indicate that while HIV/AIDS morbidity has declined, the prevalence of AIDs has increased over the decades with 37 Million people living with HIV/AIDS globally (UNAIDS, 2019). Additionally, the introduction of antiretroviral treatment (ART) has solidified HIV/AIDS as a chronic disease. Effective management of HIV/AIDS entails adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART) which has mainly been delivered in health center settings. ART is an integrated service provided by a multidisciplinary health team entailing nurses, physicians, health workers, and psychologist. Although the uptake of ART had increased by 46% in 2015, UNAIDS observes that the uptake remains low in resource-poor economies (UNAIDS, 2019). ART adherence is critical to optimize outcome which entails improved life quality and reduced morbidity (Wood et al., 2018), yet ART adherence remains a challenge among a large population of the patients.
World Health Organization (WHO) observes low…

Although the spread of HIV/AIDS is often forgotten today, due to improvements in available treatments, it is still a serious threat to the lives of many Americans. According to the New Jersey State Department of Health, the agency “facilitates a range of services and programs that provide testing, counseling, medical assistance, and other support to people living with HIV/AIDS,” as well as prophylactic treatments such as pre-exposure prophylaxis PrEP, which is a drug therapy to mitigate the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS in high-risk populations (“HIV, STD, and TB Services,” 2017, par.1). The CDC conducts surveillance of trends of rates of reported infection; although anyone can contract HIV/AIDS, certain groups (such as gay men, IV drug users, and people of color) are at higher risk and the CDC tracks the evolving patterns of the spread of the disease.

While the CDC’s surveillance program is part of the ongoing ways in which…

AIDS is a condition brought about by HIV. It results during the advanced stages of an HIV infection when an individual's immune system becomes so weak it can't fend off infections from the body. The body becomes a target of various infections which if left untreated can lead to death of the infected person. No cure has been found to cure AIDS. Nonetheless, with good support and treatment, an infected person can live with HIV for a long time. For a healthy long life after infection, the right treatment should be taken correctly and side effects of treatment addressed promptly.

Basic Facts about AIDS

AIDS is an acronym for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The syndrome can also be referred to as late-stage HIV or advanced HIV infection. Someone suffering from AIDS may contract several conditions like thrush, TB, cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis and pneumonia. An individual's risk of developing some chronic conditions…

HIV Infection and Your Child

It is a very frightening and traumatic to know that one of your children is suffering from a life threatening disease, especially if you feel that you may be partially responsible for what has happened. That is one reason why parents are reminded repeatedly to talk to their children about sex and related matters before they reach an age where they start mingling intimately with the members of the opposite sex. Sex education in schools only covers a small part of the awareness process, the real education begins at home where the parents are responsible for discussing sensitive subjects with their children.

If I find that my daughter was having unprotected sex with multiple partners, and upon screening she is found to be infected with HIV virus, my first reaction would be that of complete shock and disbelief. I would be gripped with intense fear…

However, the extent of discrimination and stigma on a HIV infected HCW is much higher creating severe health, economic and psychosocial consequences for the person. The risk of HIV infection is 100 times lesser than HV infection and by following 'Universal Procedures' it is possible to eliminate chances of an infected HCW from affecting a patient. HIV positive nurses should be permitted to work in safe settings without 'exposure prone procedures' so they can continue to participate in care giving while they are themselves coping with the burden of the disease. This is in line with the globally accepted GIPA principle of encouraging the active participation of HIV patients as an effective means to prevent, control and provide support services for people infected with HIV. While patients' safety should be the foremost issue in the field of health provision, care must be taken not to subject the HIV positive HCWs…

What they found was that religiosity played a significant role in predicting the level of religious stigma, which led to beliefs that HIV/ADIS might be a curse or punishment from God (Muturi & an, 2010). This leads to the conclusion that faith-based organizations could play an important role in HIV / AIDS prevention and treatment in the community.

Anyone familiar with HIV research is aware of the high correlation between drug using populations and HIV infection, because addicts engage in practices like needle sharing and are more likely to engage in unprotected sex with unknown partners. Therefore, one would expect that HIV prevalence would be higher among African-American women in detoxification than in other groups given that the prevalence is higher in the regular population. What they found was that whites and Hispanics had higher levels of total HIV risk scores and risky injection use scores than African-Americans (Wu et…

To understand how communities attitude about the disease contributes to the spread of the disease

To determine which measures need to be taken to educate women of color concerning the seriousness of the disease.

Aims

The proposed study is to add to the bevy of research which suggests that there are social, medical and communal reasons why women of color are at a greater risk of becoming infected with the AIDS virus. Additionally, the proposed study aims to investigate programs that have successfully decreased the rate at which women of color contract the AIDS virus. The research will also aim to assist practitioners as they attempt to treat women of color and prevent the spread of the disease.

An outline of chapters

Introduction

Purpose

Statement of Problem

esearch Questions

Conceptual Framework

Definitions

Literature eview

Prevalence of HIV / AIDS in the African-American Community

Prevalence of HIV / AIDS in the…

In addition, increased awareness of both testing and treatment options can help to eliminate the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS. Marketing should focus on the normative lifestyle now available to those infected with HIV; the fact that a positive test result is now no longer the death sentence it once was has made the disease less socially abhorrent, and increased testing has shown positive results in the reduction of spread (Pembrey, 2009). Brazil has excellent social programs in place to deal with HIV / AIDS, and public awareness of these programs and their benefit to individuals and society at large is essential in combating the disease in Brazil.

eferences

Pembrey, G. (2009). "HIV & AIDS in Brazil." AVET.org. Accessed 17 February 2009. http://www.avert.org/aids-brazil.htm

Plan UK. (2008). "aising awareness of HIV / AIDS in Maranhao, Brazil." Accessed 17 February 2009. http://www.plan-uk.org/wherewework/southamerica/brazil/hivaidsawarenessbrazil/

US AID. (2008). "Brazil." U.S. AID from the American…

-- but Glaxo contends that Cipla violates the companies' patents and international intellectual- property agreements"(Boseley, 2002). In moral defense of its actions, Glaxo's CEO, told shareholders "Some people might see patents as the obstacle to getting medicines to patients in poorer countries. Nothing could be further from the truth....Even in countries where low cost generics are available millions of people are dying every year because they cannot obtain low cost generic treatments for malaria, TB and other common diseases. e should also remember that 95% of the medicines on HO's Essential Drugs List are not covered by patent protection anywhere in the world, let alone in developing countries, many of which have no effective intellectual property laws" (Samson, 2001).

Still, a recent scandal revealing that "nearly $18 million worth of reduced-price HIV drugs intended for impoverished Africans have been intercepted by profiteers and shipped back to Europe to be sold…

In other cases, preserving confidentiality or entrusting the doctor with treatment-related decisions may be in the best interest of the patient and his or her family or community. Health care workers should carefully weigh consequences, in light of deontological ethics and institutional regulations.

Health care professionals working with patients with HIV / AIDS must be careful to temper consequentialism with deontology, to balance the psychological needs of the patient for confidentiality and autonomy with the practical needs of public health; or to balance the physical needs of a patient with HIV / AIDS with medical paternalism. Furthermore, discrimination against patients with HIV / AIDS is commonplace and often occurs inadvertently. Health care workers are obliged to confront their own biases regarding HIV / AIDS because to withhold adequate treatment is to violate a series of ethical principles including those based on deontology and on utilitarianism. For example, a health care…

HIV / AIDS in Practice: When to Start Therapy, a Clinical Context eport

Article from "MedPage Today"

The writer, Mr. Smith, interviewed Dr. Myron Cohen of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill about the treatment of HIV / AIDS. Dr. Cohen says that the guideline from International Antiviral Society and DHSS (Department of Health and Human Services) treatment for HIV need to be started immediately after the diagnosis regardless of the CD4 cell count. HIV treatment involves different steps. First and foremost is for people to have a test for HIV detection. Once it is detected, treatment should be started. HIV and AIDS are two different diseases. HIV can be controlled and a person can lead a normal life. However, there are side effects of HIV treatment as well like it produces elite controllers i.e. patients who will progress towards AIDS slowly or not at all. But despite…

Although AIDS was first discussed in medical literature in 1981, recent evidence proves the HIV virus existed long before. The first documented infection, based on plasma samples, was from 1959 (Avert).

The three most direct modes of HIV transmission between humans include sex, blood transfusions or needle sharing, and mother to infant. The HIV virus cannot survive long without a host body. Transmission therefore requires fresh bodily fluids and yet HIV cannot be transmitted via mosquitoes.

HIV / AIDS carries an enormous social stigma as psychologically devastating as the disease is physically fatal. Because the first medically chronicled cases of HIV / AIDS were gay men, the disease became synonymous with homosexuality. Homophobia fueled fears of the disease and simultaneously stymied efforts to increase public awareness of its devastating effects on all persons. In sub-Saharan Africa, almost 60% of adults living with AIDS are female.

eferences

Avert. Web site retrieved…

It is through education that people can understand that AIDS is a disease like any other and there is no reason to keep it taboo. It is also through education that people must be made to understand the risks which this disease implies. The attitude needed in order to approach this issue is a very rational one. African people, starting with very young children, must be taught that there are diseases which cannot be cured, with chemicals or with herbal medicine from the local doctor and that prevention could spare everyone the dramatic consequences of this phenomenon.

My family lives in the U.S.A. And yet the mentality that they have was one of the factors which contributed most to their contamination and that of their spouses and children. This shows that mentality is a key issue all over the world, not just in Africa. Had my cousin not been ashamed…

Needless to underline the difficulty of the this challenge.

Another author who is concerned with why the prevention programmes fail in this specific cultural environment is Catherine Campbell. She believes that while external help is fundamental, so is mobilizing the local community is the direction of prevention. Peer education made in informal scenery is believed to be the first necessary step. Another step would imply reaching the target represented by children and teenagers. This means "promoting peer education in a formal school setting" as well. "Mobilizing stakeholders to prevent HIV" is the third measure which she takes into consideration. "In the past few years, some development practitioners and agencies have attempted to acknowledge the complex and contested nature of local communities through the growing popularity of the concept of the "multi-stakeholder community." The recognition that geographical areas are often home to a range of different "stakeholders" represents an important first…

HIV Epidemiology

Description of HIV; the causes, symptoms, complications, mode of transmission and treatment

HIV is a condition that manifests in the virus attacking the immune system of the victim. When the immune system is weakened, the body does not effectively fight off diseases. The combination of the infection plus the virus that triggers it is referred to as HIV. The immune system heavily relies on the presence of white blood cells to carry out the defence activities. The HIV virus targets and destroys a type of white blood cells referred to as CD4 cells. If the virus destroys a significant number of these cells, the body begins to fail to fight infections. The final stage of infection by HIV is called AIDS. AIDS is an abbreviation for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. People with AIDS suffer ailments that are not commonly experienced by healthy people. They may acquire rare cancers and…

com -- only random links to sites that may or may not have a passing reference to HIV. There is no persuasive element whatsoever. True but Little Known Facts, however, attempts to be objective and its bullet by bullet approach has the style of a persuasive site -- but, again, because its points are ridiculous, its "minimum bias" and "objectivity" cannot be relied upon.

The content, on the other hand, of True but Little Known Facts appears to be moderately up-to-date, with sources from 2009, 2005, 2001, 1999, and 1993 -- but the sources themselves are incredible (Fybb R. Magee writes an article whose title, in a mix of French and German, can be roughly translated to mean "AIDS in the women and the man; making a hoax") and the documentation ("works sited" [sic]) is poor ("September2005" [sic]) cannot be trusted. Two copyrights exist (another peculiarity) -- one of them…

The SBOH seems set to proceed with mandatory HIV reporting by name. That alternative is presently used by 30 other states. It is presently used by ashington for the other 52 infectious diseases with mandatory reporting. In that regard, it is an easy option to implement. Moreover, because name reporting is done already with AIDS, there is little room to justify different treatment for HIV than is already being given the full-blown version of the disease. There are concerns about privacy, given that unlike AIDS patients, HIV patients can live for decades. Reporting by name would have implementation issues for doctors and would give Public Health the most accurate and timely information possible to help them combat the spread of the disease. The privacy concerns stem largely from a distrust within the most afflicted communities of authorities, in particular the state government. There is the possibility that a significant portion…

HIV / AIDS on African-American Community in U.S.

Certain diseases occur more frequently within certain communities or ethnic groups. In part, this can be connected to genetics, heritage, environment, or the habits of a given cultural or ethnic group. This phenomenon is no different with HIV / AIDS, an illness which has been aggravated in the African-American community. HIV stands for the human immunodeficiency virus, a virus which can eventually turn into AIDS, also known as the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. HIV / AIDS is believed to have come from a chimpanzee in West Africa: "They believe that the chimpanzee version of the immunodeficiency virus (called simian immunodeficiency virus, or SIV) most likely was transmitted to humans and mutated into HIV when humans hunted these chimpanzees for meat and came into contact with their infected blood. Studies show that HIV may have jumped from apes to humans as far back as…

AIDS to prevent infection: a bargain?" And is written by Julie Steenhuysen for Reuters and published April 17, 2012. The article begins by describing why AIDS is still a very much-discussed topic within the medical community, despite many breakthroughs, after so many years of being in the news, and so many advances in the technology that treats it. According to the article, one of the most successful treatments in preventing AIDS for healthy individuals is called Truvada, which is a combination of Emtriva, and Viread. (Truvada, 2012) This treatment was created in an effort to create a "pre-exposure prophylaxis" or PrEP. (Steenhuysen, 2012). This treatment would require men who are at high risk of contracting HIV to take a daily pill in order to provide a better defense from this disease.

This treatment may greatly reduce the number of men who contract HIV each year, already at a very high…

The second session had camera instruction. The third session had each participant given a camera and they were instructed to "(t)ake pictures of the challenges and solution in addressing HIV and AIDS" (Mitchell et al., 2005). The fourth session saw the photos developed and asked small groups to compare and contrast their pictures by creating posters. The authors draw on previous research on photo-voice techniques, as well as memory and photography and self-representation through photography.

In the end, the authors' qualitative research concluded that although many projects use photography to give voice to participants, it is especially significant in the giving a voice to community health workers and teachers in rural South African communities. In these remote areas, the communities do not have to wait for researchers to provide them answers, instead they are able to take action themselves and give a visible face to the HIV and AIDS plight…

Healthy People 2020' initiative (HP2020) greatly emphasizes social health determinants, health inequity factors, and income and educational goals. Further, it adopts a broader perspective of the health effects of natural and manmade environments. The National Prevention and Health Promotion Council, by building on this initiative, offers a new means to implement a government-wide 'health in every policy' approach. Several NPS (National Prevention Strategy) interventions will extend across sectors and departments, influencing various health results (Fielding, Teutsch, & Koh, 2012). Numerous HIV / AIDS-linked clinical characteristics may be attributed to the intense immune deficiency developing among infected individuals. Immune system breakdown by the human immune virus causes opportunistic infection, and greater vulnerability to malignancy and autoimmune diseases. Moreover, there may be HIV-connected disease manifestations; for instance, in the course of the primary ailment surfacing within a few weeks after the individual's first HIV exposure, clinical signs are seen in about half…

Public Infrastructure and the Status of World Health for Hiv / Aids Treatment

The HIV / AIDS epidemic began as a regional problem but gradually became a global public health issue by the closing decade of the 20th century (Powers, 2016). The same forces that have driven globalization are believed to account for this growth in HIV / AIDS cases, and researchers have since termed the epidemic as "a disease of the global system" (Powers, 2016, p. 239). This paper reviews the relevant peer-reviewed literature as well as nongovernmental organizational resources to evaluate the adequacy of the public infrastructure developed in response to this global problem and a discussion concerning the most important needs in shaping and sustaining the infrastructure for dealing with this public health problem. Finally, a series of recommended changes are followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning the HIV / AIDS global…

The problem with using this approach is that anomalies could occur, which will make the figures incorrect. To avoid these kinds of oversights, descriptive statistics is looking at a wide variety of numbers. This allows researchers to corroborate the underlying trends with one another. (Descriptive Statistics 2006)

Inferential data is when you are trying to determine what the respondents of the sample are thinking by looking beyond the data. This is accomplished by using probability to make judgments about what the data means by: looking at the differences between the control group and the independent variable. Two types of tests that are appropriate include: the t test and analysis of variance. (Inferential Statistics 2006)

Time Line

To achieve the various objectives of the survey, we include a timeline that will serve as guide in determining the length of the project. elow is a time line that will highlight the extent…

AIDS in the Workplace," discuss the following:

What are the moral issues in this case?

The first moral obligation Carla has is to the law: it is illegal to discriminate against someone because they have an illness, if that illness does not substantially affect the employee's job performance. In this case, there is no concrete evidence that Tom's rumored illness has affected his abilities as a worker. The second moral obligation Carla has is to the truth. The evidence of Tom having AIDS is based upon second-hand testimony from his ex-wife, and Carla only convinced herself that Tom may have seemed thinner after hearing Frances' comments. Tom's illness does not seem as bad, objectively, as Carla's fears suggest. Carla also has a moral obligation to honor Tom's loyal service and evident qualifications for a promotion.

What ideals, obligations, and consequences must Carla Lombard consider?

Carla Lombard must consider the ideal…

In this regard, Hackl and her colleagues emphasize, "Women who share their HIV or AIDS diagnosis with family or friends risk stigmatization (including reactions of fear, shock, and blame), isolation (as a result of others' fears of casual transmission and the possibility of desertion), and potential loss of self-esteem (lack of confidence and self-blame)" (p. 53).

The alternative to sharing their diagnosis is also not viable: "Keeping the diagnosis of HIV a secret may hinder a woman's ability to develop effective coping strategies and leave her vulnerable to fear, anger, and depression. These problems may worsen as the progression of HIV disease creates significant changes in behavior, attitudes, and physical appearance" (Hackl et al., p. 54). As osenberg emphasizes, though, "Medical experts know that those who get tested and counseled reduce risky sexual behaviors. Treatment also reduces the stigma of AIDS. One of the biggest reasons people don't change their…

Community-level programs can also reach large numbers of young men. Societal homophobia may impede implementing effective prevention programs for gay youth and may discourage young gay men from accessing prevention services.

This stigma has manifested itself in the forms of discrimination and fear of "people living with AIDS" (PLWAs). As a result, the social implications of the disease have been removed from people with other life threatening conditions to PLWAs. Unfortunately, they are not only faced with a terminal illness but also social isolation and constant discrimination throughout society. Various explanations have been suggested as to the underlying causes of these discriminatory stigmas. Many studies point to the relationship the disease has with deviant behavior, while others suggest that fear of contagion is the actual culprit. When examining the existing literature and putting it into societal context, it could lead one to believe that there is no one cause of…

A group of researchers write, "To effectively respond to this pandemic, HIV / AIDS must be treated as both an emergency and a long-term developmental issue" (Da Cruz, Da Cruz & Hammers, 2007). First, additional research must be developed to help find an ultimate cure for this disease. This would be the ultimate form of control and eradication, and would eliminate this social problem from the world.

However, this research is costly and takes time. Simply developing drugs that help combat the disease effectively has taken decades, and there is still no cure or preventative for AIDS, other than abstinence. There is an office of AIDS research in the Federal Government that coordinates research and development activities, and there is research under way to help develop an AIDS vaccine to prevent the disease. esearch should be heavily funded, and if federal funds are not available, they should be sought through…

The implications of a successful lawsuit in this instance would have been a great boon; the medical equipment and pharmaceutical industries seem ironically to be unethical and uncaring. While they manufacture goods that can potentially save lives, they base corporate decisions not on the welfare of others but solely on profit. Legislation could prevent unscrupulous business procedures in the future.

3. Manufacturers should indeed be held liable for withholding or failing to market products that could prevent injuries, even if they do hold the exclusive patent rights. Public safety and welfare should trump the pursuit of profit; a balance must be struck between the rights of corporations or individuals to maximize profit and their obligations as citizens to prevent harm. In many ways, withholding the patent of a product like the safety syringe actually causes injury because a piece of information or technology is being deliberately held back. It is…

communicable disease for discussion is HIV. HIV is the precursor to AIDS and is a virus with possible origins within the monkeys and chimp population of Africa. Some humans in certain areas of Africa ate these animals and may have been exposed to the virus where it transformed into aids. Because of HIV's ability to destroy CD4 cells, a particular kind of white blood cell, which plays a big part in aiding the body fight illness, it severely weakens a person's immune system. Eventually, it can progress to AIDS. This happens when an individual's CD4 count goes below 200 or experience complications that define AIDS like tuberculosis.

Transmission of HIV comes from infected semen, blood, or vaginal secretions that must enter a person's body. Ordinary contact does not result in infection like hugging, dancing, or kissing a person with HIV. HIV cannot be transmitted through water, insect bites, or air.…

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

Description of the communicable disease

Infection by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has become a global epidemic. It causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The major causal sources of this communicable disease are through semen, blood, breast milk of infected mothers, and vaginal fluid. In addition, the virus can be found in sweat, saliva, and also tears; however, in the latter cases, generally not in sufficient amounts to cause spreading of the virus to another individual. The main common means of being infected with HIV are through having unprotected sex and through sharing of needles. HIV may be transferred through unprotected heterosexual or homosexual anal, vaginal, and perhaps oral sex. Even though the risk of infection is minimal with oral sex, there remains the same imperative to use protection such as a condom in the course of oral sex. Due to new treatments, the risk of…

Sex and AIDS: a Study in Contrasts

AIDS is one of the most hotly debated topics of modern times. Whether it is a question of what should be done to help those who have the disease, what may be done to prevent others from contracting it, or of the many moral arguments pro and con regarding the lifestyle or lifestyles that results in its spread, it is definitely a subject that is viewed from many, often widely-differing angles. What one newspaper or magazine can cover as a matter of science, another can describe as a cultural inspiration, or a religious sin. Film, television, radio, and the arts all play their role in constructing what we see as the impact of this dread disease. For the purposes of this paper, we shall take a look at AIDS and how it is depicted in one geographically small urban area: the New York…

, Marais, C. And Wellbeloved, J.R.

The authors provide a clear image of the challenges faced by transgender individuals in general, and the particular challenges they face within societies that are less open-minded than some Western nations. Even in more liberal and open-minded societies, transgender individuals are frequently misunderstood. They are assumed to be part of the homosexual community by mainstream culture but often do not fit within that population either. Alternatively, they are viewed as recreational fetishists like transvestites who enjoy cross-dressing.

One of the most difficult aspects of life as transgender individual is that many of them are heterosexual but have an undeniable feeling that they are locked into the body of the wrong gender. It is rarely a matter of choice for them, since they typically have felt that way since early childhood. Moreover, in most cases, their compulsion to identify with the physical aspects of their…

Angels in America

ony Kushner's Angels in America won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for sensitively handling of some serious issues concerning America today. In this paper, we shall only be focusing on the first play Millennium Approaches where the author talks about Reagan era and hostility towards gay movement shown by Reagan administration when AIDS epidemic engulfed the country.

Ronald Reagan administration has been criticized for its hostile attitude towards gay movement and cause. he administration was highly conservative and close-minded and is held largely responsible for generating homophobia in the country. he President himself refused to discuss the issue until 1987 when 20,000 people died in the U.S. due to AIDS epidemic. In such a society, everyone who appeared different was ridiculed, attacked, harassed and hated. Jews, homosexuals, AIDS-infected patients, almost everyone who was not part of the mainstream culture and society is considered non-human. hey are given an…

HIV / AIDS Implication in African Governance

Implications of HIV / AIDS on Botswana's Governance

This dissertation paper is a research study that foresees on the governance structure of African nations, in particular, Botswana. The country has had a declining development on the improvements being instigated in government. This has been attributed to ht increasing rates of HIV / AIDS in the country; more so, it has been rated top among nations with the highest rate of HIV / AIDS infection. This paper raises concerns being implicated on in the social and economic aspects of Botswana government structure and Africa in general. The future is also prospected with a close analysis on the disease's trend in the country, and the importance of reducing the rate of infection for the betterment of governance.

Impact of HIV / AIDS on Botswana's Governance

Introduction

Governance is the act of utilizing institutional resources in…

AIDS and Politics in African

Aside from Malaria and other life threatening diseases, AIDS constitutes one of the major concerns within the African continent. One of the reasons behind this concern is the fact that HIV / AIDS is responsible for causing many deaths in this part of the world. ith close to 70% of people living with HIV / AIDS in the entire globe coming from Africa, the magnitude of the problem in the continent cannot be overemphasized (UNAIDS 1). Political participation in matters as serious as this cannot go without being noticed. Politics in Africa is part of the HIV / AIDS epidermis and plays a role not only in the prevention of the diseases but also in its causes among other dynamics. The politics of Aids however is not limited to government and political entities and neither does it emanate from Africa alone. The participation of such…

AIDS

The young people of our species love to try new things. Being a teen or young adult means living in a world of endless possibilities. During high school and college, people try a variety of new experiences covering every possible facet of life. They will probably drink for the first time during this period, will probably become sexually active, and many will experiment at least once or twice with drugs. Fifty years ago, parents worried about these things on moral grounds. Today, both the young people and their parents must worry because these common experiences can kill: they can lead, directly or indirectly, to the acquisition of the AIDS virus.

AIDS presents American youth with a particularly cruel paradox: the very factors that encourage young people to try new experiences, learn new things and become the masters of their lives makes AIDS-risky behavior more attractive. Being a teen or…

ADS in South Africa

Those of us living in the United States became used to the face of ADS a generation ago. We learned to recognize the particular gauntness that characterized those who had been struck by it, and who would soon be taken away by it. And then, after years of people dying from this disease, we learned that people who had this terrible disease could be healed; not cured, for they still contained the viruses within their bodies, but they could live lives that were happy and meaningful - and long. The terror of ADS subsided, becoming one of only many of the perils of modern life rather than one of the predominant ones.

But the trajectory of ADS in South Africa (as well as in other parts of the developing world, has been very different. Even in the first years of the disease the manifestations of it…

HIV in the Older Population

To Congress:

It has come to the attention of the medical community that enough is not being done to help the older population of HIV-infected individuals. This population makes up 1/4th of the total population of persons infected with HIV (CDC, 2016). In order to protect this population and to help to mitigate the risk of spreading HIV, there are a number of steps recommended to Congress that Congress can implement as part of a national policy to address the issue facing the older HIV population.

These steps are the following:

Establish more HIV clinics in inner city neighborhoods

Address housing, medical care, educational and financial assistance issues related to older populations needs

Set up a special fund that can be used to provide financial assistance for older HIV-infected adults

Support the medical community with direct grants and subsidies that go to providing free counseling…