Hiv/Aids Summary of Research Study

According to estimates and numbers provided by the CDC, about one and a half million people 13 years of age and younger is HIV positive. Demographics also show that almost 20% of people who are infected do not know they have the virus. The CDC estimates that now every year, there are about 50,000 new cases diagnosed (2013). At risk groups include gay men, bisexual people, and African Americans (CDC, 2013). Young African American males are at greatest risk for contracting HIV among various ethnicities and races (CDC, 2013).

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.

We have been aware of HIV and AIDS since the 1970s (Miller, 2012), and though there have been treatments and reduction in the number of people infected, the disease remains. The disease results in death usually following opportunistic infections as a result of AIDS destruction of the immune system, but thanks to modern medicine “many people

Popular culture and mainstream media offer misleading and erroneous explanations for drastic dissimilar impact of HIV/AIDS in minority groups. One

AIDS or acquired immune deficiency syndrome is a disease where a person regardless of race or gender can get infected and have no chance of survival. AIDS started in the 1980’s to move from human to human. In a event were sex kills this is the one. In 1995, AIDS was the leading cause of death for adults 25 to 44 years old. But in recent years treatments help the survival and prolonged life of many with AIDS yet the disease still resides within them and they are dangerous to the well being of

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

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS is a pandemic problem affecting global health. At the end of 2015, 36.7 million people were living with HIV/AIDS globally. The rate of incidence is more prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa with almost 1 in every 24 adults living with HIV/AIDS. In the united states, HIV/AIDS is a diversified health problem affecting all sexes, ages and races and involving the transmission of multiple risk behavior. However, with the introduction of various prevention programs and antiretroviral drugs, the incidence of HIV/AIDS has reduced.

In the 1980's the HIV/AIDS epidemic devastated many communities, growing panic over the incurable disease that many people were dying from. In the past, there wasn't a lot of information on how HIV/AIDS was contracted or spread, and thus the epidemic instilled much fear over fatal sexually transmitted diseases. In today’s times I fear that our communities have become distance from HIV/AIDS and other STDs because of large advancements in modern medicine the United States have been able to achieve. Americans don’t seem as worried as they once where about contracting devastating STDs and this is a luxury other areas of the world don’t have. I am aware that in sub-Saharan Africa there are millions of people who are living with HIV, and although more and more adults and children are reported to die each year from this devastating illness (nearly one million in Africa alone) the population grows still, estimating to grow into the millions by 2050( Population Reference Bureau, 2013). This Illness is so disheartening to hear about as it can even be passed down to the infected individual’s children.

A specific health belief in this population is simply the lack of education on syphilis as a serious health threat. A study conducted in Baltimore, showed that men over the age of 40 reported a higher knowledge of syphilis, which could suggest that contraction of the disease affected past generations (“Syphilis Elimination Effort”, 2002). Thus, individuals may have heard of the disease, however they have no sense of worry in contraction. Through research, it seems that individual perceptions of syphilis as a serious health threat begin to vary as the social circle

HIV is a sexually transmitted disease that attacks the body’s immune system by diminishing CD4 cells that help prevent and fight illnesses. HIV is a virus, more specifically a retrovirus that transcribes its RNA into the host cell’s DNA, and is spread by a transfer in bodily fluids namely drug injection and condomless sex. As the disease progresses into acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), the virus continues eliminating CD4 cells until the immune system becomes virtually ineffective [5]. Scientists first identified HIV in 1985 in response to the AIDS crisis plaguing the United States [6]. With no cure yet available, those affected with HIV must rely on antiretroviral drug therapy to decrease their chances of developing AIDS [7].

It is true that some of the first cases of HIV and AIDS in America were found in gay males. However, once the disease was more widely researched, it was discovered that people other than gays could become infected with the virus, including children, women, and recipients of blood transfusions. Promiscuity among homosexuals is no more common than among straight people ("Sexual Behaviors Text 2"). While having multiple partners and sharing needles through drug use are common causes of AIDS, these things are not exclusive to the gay community.

Despite the trouble several school systems face when trying to offer sex education, most schools do offer some form of AIDS education to students.

Safe-sex practices should be taught in every school district and household in the world. If more people were informed on how serious this disease is and how easily one can get infected, there would be a tremendous decline in transmissions. The simplest way to prevent the spread of HIV is obviously to be abstinent, however with social reform in modern day society more and more teenagers are beginning to become sexually active. In hindsight of this inevitable change, the development of a higher educational program concerning sexual intercourse needs to be developed. Education in the fragile aspects of

The early days of the AIDS epidemic drastically contrast AIDS in the present day. In order to get deep insights into the early days of the epidemic, two interviews were conducted. The two individuals interviewed were Scott and Susan. Both were in their 20’s when AIDS first emerged in 1981. Scott’s connection with HIV is extremely personal, as he was infected with the virus in 1987 and continues to remain HIV positive. On the other hand, Susan, is more removed from the situation having not personally experienced it. Scott currently works as a health educator for youth and speaks all around the country about both his story and about sexual education. Susan works in a preschool in Florida and is enjoying her life with both of her children at college. The 1980’s were a period of hiding and fear of HIV, it was not talked about during this time. Both public opinions and public health center’s (hospitals) decisions during this time did not help the growing stigmatization that HIV and AIDS patients already faced. Public education about HIV around the world through speakers like Scott and Florence from Uganda helped alleviate the fear and stigma behind HIV and AIDS to its current state of cultural acceptance and normality.

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):