Aids Essay

In South Africa, AIDS is one of the top causes of death. South Africa has the biggest AIDS/HIV epidemic in the world because of violence against women, poverty, and lack of education. Given this, “Africans account for nearly 70% of those who live with HIV and are dying of AIDS” (Morgenstern, Dr. Michael).

Ever since the first cases of what eventually came to be known as AIDS were diagnosed in the early 1980s, people with HIV/AIDS have been stigmatized. Over time, there have been many misconceptions about this disease. Even though there have been many discoveries, and treatments for HIV have improved over time, there are still many people who understand very little about this disease. This lack of understanding, along with fear, misinformation about how the disease is transmitted, and “moral” judgments made about the types of people who contract HIV, all have led to stigmatization of, and discrimination against, people who are living with HIV/AIDS. Understanding the stigmatization of people with HIV/AIDS is an important social justice issue because that stigmatization can result in people with HIV being insulted, rejected, gossiped about, excluded from family and social activities, fired, and even jailed. People with HIV are no different from people suffering from other chronic diseases. Instead of being alienated, they have a right to be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity.

Nearly three decades ago, there was an increase in deaths of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Developing countries have experienced the greatest HIV/AIDS morbidity and mortality, with the highest prevalence rates recorded in young adults in sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa over three million people are killed by this disease (Macfarlene3). After this epidemic spreaded in Africa and killed people it branched out to other countries in the world.

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection is a long-term (chronic) viral infection. HIV kills white blood cells that help to control the body's defense system (immune system) and fight infection. HIV spreads through semen, pre-seminal fluid, blood, breast milk, rectal fluid, and vaginal fluid. HIV is commonly spread through sexual contact and sharing needles or syringes, because these behaviors involve exchanging bodily fluids. Without treatment, HIV can turn into AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), an advanced stage of HIV infection. AIDS is a very serious illness and can be life-threatening.

In today’s world we seem to put aside things that we consider no longer a threat. Well we are wrong to do this, because HIV/AIDS still affects over 5.4 million people that are walking around with this infection or full blown AIDS. They are friends, Criminals, neighbors, and even children attending school, etc. So, why do we think it is ok to not worry about a problem that does not have a cure, but only a life time of meds? Within this qualitative research method, we will explore Sexual risk, there or the Measures, Sexual risk, method, demographics, HIV/AIDS risk and may add other areas as they relate to this study.

An upsetting pattern has risen inside of the previous couple of years, demonstrating a relentless increment of ladies being contaminated with HIV/AIDS every year. This pattern is particularly conspicuous in sub-Saharan Africa. While the illness is contaminating more ladies than any other time in recent memory and now represents about portion of those living with HIV around

To address the communication problem, we must understand that there have been many alternative names that human-beings have given to HIV/AIDS and the amount of information and knowledge of the sexually transmitted disease has gone into overload since the huge epidemic, primarily during the twentieth century. This overload of information has caused many to disregard the issues and as an ending result caused many to focus on the issue and factors associated with HIV/AIDS as much as many once did in the past. Although HIV/AIDS no longer dominate the headlines, we must wonder are health professionals and AID advocates still giving out all the clear signs because it is apparent that HIV/AIDS are still a danger to society.

What is HIV? It is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS if not treated. The Kaiser Family Foundation (2008), states that HIV attacks the body’s immune system, specifically the CD4 cells (T cells), which help the immune system fight off infections. If left untreated, it reduces the number of T-Cells in the body, making the person more likely to get other infections. Also noted is the fact that HIV destroys so many of these cells that it renders the body helpless in fighting off the infections, while it takes advantage of the weaker immune system. This occurrence is part of the

Patients that are diagnosed with HIV and eventually AIDS often become stigmatized and experience discrimination in Latin America. These roots of stigma and discrimination are founded in societal inequalities embedded with the complex relationship between socioeconomic status, political policies, and cultural values. A stigma can be described as the identification a social group makes about an individual based on the physical deformities, character faults, and family lineages (race, nation, or religion) that are not part of the norms of society (Goffman 2009:4-7). This, in turn, causes the discrimination the individual faces, but more importantly alters their interpretation of themselves within society.

Social and behavioral factors also have significant impact on the older adult population and HIV. Older adults are less likely than younger adults to reveal their status. Older adults usually draw on cultural resources and values as well as spirituality to explain and cope with their HIV diagnosis and the associated stigma. They are more likely than their younger counterparts to feel less cheated by the disease and the threat of disabilities associated with the disease (Seigel & Schrimshaw, 2002). In contrast, research articles focused on the social-psychological experiences of older adults with HIV often report high rates of depression associated with decreased physical well-being and social support. Major depression rates were reported to

Alan was diagnosed positive for HIV, but that discovery does not stop him from achieving his ambitions. Many people are anxious to tell their loved ones about being diagnosed positive with HIV. He is an activist, a man who wants HIV to be more transparent to the world. This goal is not to alert people about safe sex, but to open their eyes to the invisible truth of HIV. According to Mayer, it is wrong for people to “lie about their status”( A17).This lie can harm many people, and people need to realize the “realities of H.I.V. transmission”(Meyer A17). Alan strives to bring attention to people of the reality of having HIV. It is very rare for people to expose their true health status because organizations such as, Gay Men’s Health Crisis do

It is imaginable for anyone to foresee that they would have been heartbroken to discover someone who worked with them or rode the same train as them had HIV/AIDS. It was a disease that the carrier did not talk about at all because of the death sentence it carried or stigma associated with it.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, also known as AIDS is a disease that gradually attacks breaks down the human immune system that starts out with the virus called HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus. AIDS makes it impossible for the people suffering with the disease to fight off simple infections and viruses that normal, healthy individuals wouldn’t be affected by. It’s not the virus that actually kills the individual, it’s the small scale outside infections, tumors, and viruses that kills the person because the AIDS virus destroys that person’s immune system, which is the only defense we have against viruses.

HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. A member of a group of viruses called retroviruses, HIV infects human cells and uses the energy and nutrients provided by those cells to grow and reproduce. AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a disease in which the body's immune system breaks down and is unable to fight off certain infections, known as "opportunistic infections," and other illnesses that take advantage of a weakened immune system. When a person is infected with HIV, the virus enters the body and lives and multiplies primarily in the white blood cells. These are the immune cells that normally protect us from disease.

Stein et al. (2015) similarly conducted a prospective, randomized clinical trial comparing effects of three ART treatments on carotid wall intima-media thickness (IMT). This was a multicenter project taking place over 26 institutions and included a total 328 participants. Subjects included HIV infected individuals who were not on any ART regimen and did not have known cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus. Participants who reported use of statins, fish oil, fibric acid derivatives or niacin were excluded from the study. All subjects received tenofovir/emtricitabine and additionally were randomized equally between one of three regimens of atazanavir/ritonavir (ATV/r), darunavir/ritonavir (DRV/r), or raltegravir (RAL). Right common