Education On Culture Competence For Hiv / Aids

The National Association of Social Work (NASW) has identified a set of values that all social workers must consider during the course of their work (NASW, 2008). Social work values are broadly covered when you define social work as being a profession of aiding those in need and addressing oppression. Helping those in need directly relates to the value of supporting the needs of others. The definition also addresses the importance of bringing awareness to oppression. This relates to the values of addressing injustice, individuality and promoting harmony. On a broader perspective, all social workers are encouraged to continually pursue knowledge in their area and maintain ethical practices. Values have the purpose of ensuring that helpers always strive for what is best for the client. Manning (1997) points out that “the power to intervene in people’s lives carries

My first personal value that will impact my work as a social worker is respect. In terms of social work and ability to influence my additional values, respect is the most important. For me, respect means to honor others and appreciate their perspective. While my definition of respect may seem simple, its usefulness is multifaceted. One may respect a person, a place, a situation, a circumstance, etc. I learned concepts of respect as a child as my parents were teaching me to observe boundaries. They wanted me to respect my room, and keep it clean, and they explained to me how they respected my personal space. In return, my parents taught me to respect their boundaries, their room, and

The social work values that I found, are dignity and worth of a person, and importance of human relations. Dr. Rodgers had a young man that lied to him several times, however he continued to help him. He gave him food, and a place to rest, all the while knowing that he was lying to him. He could see past the lying; he knew the

This deal with addressing the community, family and social networks that people are part of. Nurses should in this case analyze the different social environments that people live in so as to successfully address the AIDs pandemic. This is mainly due to the fact that people may tend to form their attitudes towards the disease depending on their social network. Nurses should form groups, and educate the people as a community, about the effects of the disease on both the community and family, an undertaking which will raise awareness among the community members. This is likely to help the community to be cautious and responsible for their actions, as well as prevent the promotion of any negative values that may increase chances of people in the society acquiring the disease (Levine & What Works Working Group, 2007). Additionally, nursing should address the issue of stigma that family and social networks have towards the AIDs pandemic and those suffering from it, and which hinder people from seeking help and knowing their status (Qubuda & Mphumela, 2009).

I agree with the policy statement in the NASW Social Work Speaks. The 3 basic elements of competence they mention are very important for social workers to have. We should have cultural awareness, cultural-specific knowledge, and skills. “Culture is the integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thoughts, behaviors, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of a racial, ethnic, religious, or social group. Social groups may include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people, people with a disability, older adults, military families, and immigrants and refugees.” Social workers should be very cultural competent because of the demographic in America there are many different culture and background.

Values which social workers are assumed to have are; unspoken understanding that social work can at times be pro bono, meaning no compensation for services provided, social workers must possess a knowledge of understanding regarding social injustice, they must be respectful when assisting individuals and be able to plan any type of intervention around beliefs and values the individual holds, whenever possible and social workers need to

The values set by their profession bind social workers by guiding their actions and decision-making in a professional setting. They are to respect the dignity and worth of persons, to strive for social justice, to offer humanity service, and to show integrity, confidentiality, and competence in their professional practice (CASW, 2005, p. 4).

My understanding of the social work profession and its core values is that social workers are caregivers, they provide assistance to people in need, and they address social problems. The social worker goal is the improvement of society to ameliorate the lives of individuals in need. The social work profession mission is to enhance the well-being of people and to assist them in meeting their basic needs, with particular emphasis on the needs of the poor, and the vulnerable individual. The Social Work profession has six core values. These core values are the foundation of the social work profession. The social worker incorporates these core values into his daily practices. Service to others is one of the fundamental values of social work. Social workers goal is serving others and putting the needs of their clients ahead of their own. Social justice is another core value of social work. Social workers aim at improving the lives of the disadvantaged, vulnerable people who are less fortunate or unable to advocate for themselves. Social workers understand the essential value of every human life, regardless of ethnic background, cultural differences or religious beliefs. Their goal is to respect the dignity and worth of every person. Another key value of social work is integrity. The social workers conduct themselves in a trustworthy, honest, and responsible manner at all times. Competence is another important core value of the social work profession. The

Value Orientations are an important aspect to social work practice. It is critical that social workers do not let their personal values interfere with their daily work ethic. In addition, social works must keep an objective outlook on the issues they confront because values differ across cultures, race, ethnicity, etc. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical self-reflection on my personal values.

Though the disease is still infecting many, new technology and medical techniques that include medication have made it possible to live a normal life after being infected with the HIV virus. Doctors are now far past the era in which they would deny care to an HIV-positive patient and that is because they are aware of the disease and are not afraid. Being afraid of something can unknowingly turn a person into a monster. Since being educated doctors and other healthcare professionals have been able to turn a new leaf and hop over to the supporting side of AIDS. Other than being under a doctor’s care, successful strategies for combating AIDS include “increasing awareness about prevention strategies such as using clean needles and condoms and, most recently, promoting male circumcision” (Conley 442). All these biological measures combating the chemical nature of AIDS work hand in hand to reform the social structure of the disease. Those living with AIDS in the United States today are not looked at as if they are lepers, instead they are view as survivors and

It is imperative that social workers become knowledgeable about their clients’ cultures and are culturally sensitive. In learning about their clients’ cultures, social workers need to be aware of how powerful and significant culture is in relating to clients’ behavior, values, and beliefs. Becoming culturally competent requires the ability to integrate awareness, knowledge, and skills while maintaining a positive working relationship with the client (Sue and Zane, 1987). Today, the concerns regarding cultural competency continue to accentuate the importance of preparing social workers for a diversified society.

In the last three decades HIV/ AIDS has become the one of the most notorious and widely spread diseases in the modern world. Its discovery in the late seventies prompted worldwide concern. The one thing that has become the most bothersome thing about the HIV/ AIDS epidemic is prevention. Prevention or stopping the transmission of the diseases is hindered by factors such as: denial or non-acceptance by infected persons, unsafe sex, and non-disclosure by infected persons to their at risk sexual partner(s). According to Alghazo, Upton, and Cioe (2011):

HIV/AIDS is a disease that has more than 34 million people infected worldwide. This disease has 5,700 new infections every day, resulting in 240 more every single hour. This disease has caused 21.8 million deaths before the year 2000 and caused 1.8 million in 2012 alone. The same disease has one in three people in sub-Saharan Africa infected, and has no cure. These aforementioned facts, plus countless others presented are staggering and are compiled by leading organisations like the World Health Organisation (WHO), New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF) and AIDS Research Alliance (ARA). Despite this, AIDS does not seem to be taken seriously, but it needs to be, as without the proper knowledge anyone can contract the disease. This article is part of a global aim to educate people and hopefully prevent the spread of this disease, through explaining what HIV/AIDS is, how it can be contracted and most importantly how it can be prevented.

One major factor in the fight against HIV and AIDS is identifying the communities most at risk for facing a localized epidemic. As stated above, fighting an epidemic requires communities to have access to the proper preventative measures, education, and healthcare. For these reasons the disease is particularly prevalent in communities stricken with poverty, of low education, and high exposure to drugs. As of 2004, 90% of all 36.1 million known AIDS cases were reported in developing countries. For people living in these countries, protection against HIV is much more difficult due to lack of available contraceptives, little access to education, and poor healthcare. When a person infected with HIV cannot access medical treatment their infection quickly progresses into AIDS and depending on environmental factors very quickly leads to death. With this in mind, the fight against AIDS cannot be focused in just one region. Oftentimes more focus is placed on disease prevention in more developed first-world countries, but that tactic ignores a much greater problem and the unique struggles of treating epidemics in third-world nations.

Today, as we must know HIV is still spreading around the world and neither a vaccine nor a cure exists. The prevention of the disease remains the main key of the strategy to stop the epidemic. The most common mode of HIV transmission is sexual contact; therefore, HIV prevention is closely linked to the sexual and reproductive health of men and women. Effective prevention programs include interventions that promote sex abstinence, delay sexual initiation, maintain a mutually faithful partner, limit sexual partners, use condoms consistently and correctly, and counsel and test for HIV. The most effective combination of these interventions depends on the characteristics of groups infected with HIV. Effective programs also consider the social,