Operational Definition.Pdf

“Let’s create an AIDS/HIV-free generation”, which is not only a slogan that was proposed by President Obama but also a goal that I would like to achieve on my future career path. My practicum project at the Department of Health and Human Services was to generate dataset of new AIDS/HIV cases in Houston/Harris area required by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and then to use ArcGIS software to make a map describing the new diagnosed in Houston area. The final products can be spatially lined to other sources to enhance understanding of social determinants of health affecting populations impacted by HIV. This practicum experience let me realize that AIDS spreads so quickly is because most people have insufficient knowledge or misconception about the disease and prevention. Becoming a pharmacist to provide prevention service and educate people to improve their health and wellbeing is how I want to reach the goal of creating an AIDS/HIV-free generation.

​The best solution is the implementation od an Hiv awareness campaign targeted at African-american women. African-american women as a population have lower rates of awareness about HIV infection, ahich is is perceived to be primarily a homosexual disease that’s inflicts homosexual men (Cleveland, 2008). African-american women also are likely to discount the possibility that their male partners are engaged in homosexual activity ( Hunter & King, 2005). Addressing these erroneous beliefs must be the first step in encouraging African-american women to engage in safe sex practices. Providing access to condoms and testing before an awareness campaign puts the cart before the horse.

An operational definition of a variable is the way in which ‘something’ will be measured in said study. It is important because it distinguishes research from one another; for example two researchers may be studying the same exact thing but by having a different operational definition of the variable they are now conducting two completely different studies. The operational definition of a variable is identified in the research proposal; usually within the first couple of sentences of the research purpose.

According to recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 1.2 million individuals in the United States have HIV (about 14 percent of which are unaware of their infection and another 1.1 million have progressed to AIDS. Over the past decade, the number of HIV cases in the US has increased, however, the annual number of cases remains stable at about 50, 000 new cases per year. Within these estimates, certain groups tend to carry the burden of these disease, particularly the gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men (MSM) and among race/ethnic groups, Blacks/African American males remain disproportionately affected. (CDC)

Human Immunodefiency Virus has become all too common in my hometown Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Rapidly this city has taken the number one spot leading the nation cases per capita of 100,000 people, according to Rene Taylor, Executive Director of Family Services of Greater Baton Rouge. (Feb., 2018). Baton Rouge holds its highest HIV cases in the North Baton Rouge area, where African Americas account for 95% of the residents. Studies show that age, poverty and education level is concurrent with most people infected with the virus. Baton Rouge has many organizations and government funded programs for all residents but coherence is proven to be low. Therefore, I posed the question: How do we decrease the HIV percental in Baton Rouge? I suggest we decrease the HIV epidemic in Baton Rouge by first, providing mandatory Education and statistics about the virus. Secondly, promoting

I worked directly with the HIV/AIDS population as well as individuals whose behaviors place them at high risk for becoming infected. I am currently the Supervisor for the AIDS Institute Linkage and Navigation Program where I am responsible for overseeing the delivery of services. These services encompass but are not limited to entitlements, referral to agencies that assist with identifying appropriate housing, referral to medical, mental health and substance use services. I also, oversee treatment adherence services which support clients in their readiness to begin (ARV) antiretroviral therapy and maintain adherence to their prescribed medication for treatment for HIV/AIDS.

The Chicago Department of Public Health exemplifies a public health department that is extremely proactive and supportive of initiatives to eradicate or significantly decrease the incidence of HIV in the City of Chicago. To this end, the Chicago Department of Health monitors the incidences of new cases in the city, while constantly monitoring the progression or regression of the conditions of patients already affected by the HIV virus. Statistical data is collected through the avenue set up for health care providers to report all pertinent information about newly diagnosed HIV or an unusual turn of events with old HIV cases. furthermore, the Chicago Department of Public health ( CDPH) through its monitoring programs is able to identify threats, determine which health care services are need in a community and the target population. For example, in the month of November, their target segments were gays and bisexual African American men because both groups were disproportionately impacted by the HIV outbreak during the previous summer. Impressively, the CDPH has links to addresses where HIV testing is done free of charge and reports are confidential. Most importantly, the result is shared with the department to help the department further enhance the efficiency of the HIV task force of the CDPH. Furthermore, the CDPH is very efficient in the dissemination of information either through links on their website, advertisement, or pamphlets to name a few. Moreover,

First, we need to raise awareness of the prevalence of HIV in Baton Rouge by posting flyers saying how the capital has one of the highest prevalence of HIV in the country and that HIV is no longer a death sentence with modern medicine available. Also, list a plethora of clinics and free HIV testing centers on the flyers if people are interested in getting tested. We also need to create efficient and committed HIV advocacy organizations and advertise them around Baton Rouge for those with HIV who are seeking help. Even so, a study in Canada constructed a trial run consisting of using HIV-positive peer counselors administering seven 2-hour counseling sessions to small groups of gay and bisexual men. The goal of these sessions was to help reduce the prevalence of HIV transmission and high-risk sexual behaviors through implementing motivational interviewing, behavioral skills, and information about HIV (Hart et al. 1). When the trial run was finished, there were some impressive results. No doubt, there was a significant reduction in a number of men participating in sex without a condom with all status partners by 30 percent. Also, there was a significant reduction in loneliness, sexual compulsivity, and fear of being sexually rejected for insisting on condom use, by which these factors heavily contribute to sexually high-risk behaviors (Hart et al. 11).

The brunt of the impact of HIV has taken over the African American population due to complex set of social, individual and environmental factors. The spread of the disease is the number one cause of death in African Americans, both male and female. It is alarming and at the same time devastating for the African people throughout the world not able to organize and work together to combat the reality of HIV that is invading the black communities. With this alarming epidemic, this paper will identify the internal and external risk factors or challenges affecting the prevention/intervention that has been developed for the African Americans with HIV.

2) The systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific

HIV/AIDS education and counseling’ condom distribution to prevent sexual transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases; referrals to substance abuse treatment and other medical and social services distribution of alcohol swabs to help prevent abscesses and other bacterial infections; on-site HIV testing and counseling and crisis intervention; screening for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and other

One evidence-based solution that I intend to use to address HIV/AIDS is system review. Let me explain why. System review is a literature review that critically analyzes multiple research studies on a topic. Such review for my Scholar-Practitioner Project on community health assessment can allow me to review all research studies or papers on HIV/AIDS among African-Americans, who live in Baltimore, Maryland with specific criteria: education, income, sex, and religion. It is quick and reasonable, rather than conducting the same research that has already been carried out. According to the CDC (2012), “there is an increasing disease rates, limited funding, for an ever-growing scientific basis for intervention to have proven strategies to improve

According to the CDC (2015), more than one million people are living with HIV in the United States, and more than 50,000 become newly infected each year. Unfortunately, one in five Americans living with HIV are unaware of their infection. I believe using the strategy which stresses the use of the 10 essential services of public health will help reduce the incidence of HIV in our

About the national response to the HIV epidemic in Detroit, the National HIV/AIDS strategy details the principles and priorities to guide the collective national work to address HIV in the U.S. by the year 2020 (Opalewski, 2016). The United States government leads

Just as clearly, experience shows that the right approaches, applied quickly enough with courage and resolve, can and do result in lower HIV infection rates and less suffering for those affected by the epidemic. An ever-growing AIDS epidemic is not inevitable; yet, unless action against the epidemic is scaled up drastically, the damage already done will seem minor compared with what lies ahead. This may sound dramatic, but it is hard to play down the effects of a disease that stands to kill more than half of the young adults in the countries where it has its firmest hold—most of them before they finish the work of caring for their children or providing for their elderly parents. Already, 18.8 million people around the world have died of AIDS, 3.8 million of them children. Nearly twice that many—34.3 million—are now living with HIV, the virus [9].