Personal Reflection on 'Age of Aids' by Frontline

In the documentary “The Age of AIDS,” FRONTLINE examines the outbreak of AIDS since its first diagnosed case in 1981. The film investigates different medical, political and social environments under AIDS pandemic in the US and worldwide. The film not only focuses on the scientific research and progress in treating the disease, it also looks at the social stigma, government strategies and public campaigns around different countries.

It is critical to understand the epidemiology of such diseases that overcome a population. With this skill, it would enable health care managers to incorporate such skills to make proper evidence and population based decisions, especially when health resources are limited. In addition, finance, planning, quality issue assessments, and evidence based public health practice would be considered (Healey & Lesneksi, 2011). This can allow them to not only develop best practices, but to also share them through the health care system (Healey & Lesneksi, 2011).

As decades pass, it becomes evident that medical research plays a vital role in saving lives and containing deadly epidemics. Without the advancement of modern medicine, these lethal diseases could undeniably erase mankind in its entirety. AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, was the fire that medical researchers were trying to contain since the first reported case of AIDS swept across American headlines on June 5, 1981 (“Timeline”). As mentioned in the Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” AIDS played an influential role in shaping modern medicine and treatment. Acquired immune deficiency puzzled researchers from the start, however, physicians discovered the origin, method of transfer, treatment, and containment methods for

My unwavering interest in infectious diseases began in middle school when I read the book, The Hot Zone, by Richard Preston that intricately describes the Ebola virus. While the description of how the virus destroys the human body are unpleasant, this virus fascinated me. Consequently, in my spare time I read about other infectious diseases, such as cholera and tuberculosis, on Wikipedia and other web pages for my personal enjoyment. Years later, I participated in Princeton Model Congress in high school where I first learned about public health. Participants made mock congressional bills to be passed in a congress comprised of high school and college students in order to implement a national change. My mock bill advocated for the incorporation of HIV tests within annual physicals. The purpose of this bill was to ensure that more people became knowledgeable about their status and with this knowledge, HIV positive individuals can receive care faster and take proactive measures to prevent infecting others with this virus. As I researched various facts about the HIV epidemic and how HIV impacts communities in Washington, D.C., my interest in public health evolved even though I did not know of the official name, public health. At the time, I wanted to be a lawyer and averted from anything science or math related. Yet, I cared about my community and I wanted to make a difference. I rediscovered my interest in public health in college as a biology major.

We as a class were given a variety of health subjects to choose from to undertake a research project that counted as a huge part of our grades. I picked the study of epidemiology to be the area I would focus on extensively for the next three months of that semester. This obviously meant that I had to read and learn a couple of books to get a clear idea of how I was going to present my idea and findings. As I read through some of these books, I really became intrigued. The aspects of global health issues, biostatistics and health policies to name a few really jolted me into considering this area of study as a potential future career choice, as oppose as to just a research project. I was really fascinated as I read and came across the range of issues that public health officials such as epidemiologists had to solve or were in the process of solving in inventive ways. I obtained a crucial but very methodical understanding of the very issues that is being faced in the world of health care today. Ever since this class came and went, I have been highly focused on public health issues through other classes and

I have always been aware of global issues and needing to understand what is happening in the world has always been important to me. However, I never understood global concerns through a health paradigm. Many of the concepts presented in this course were not new to me, as I have been an active participant in global issues and organizations, such as Spread the Net Campaign to end malaria, as well as many different human rights causes. However, the new insight I gained was in regards to

I was drawn to the idea of not only focusing on one-on-one patient care that doctors provide, but also solving problems that affect the health of entire populations. The study of disease and health within populations; for instance, preventing disease, promoting health, and reducing health problems between groups are the main reasons I want to pursue an M.P.H focusing on epidemiology. These are my strongest interests because I believe they are important in improving our world’s health.

This paper defines and explains the six core functions of epidemiology: Public health surveillance, field investigation, analytic studies, evaluations, linkages, and policy development. The core functions of epidemiology lay down a foundation on which epidemiologists can begin to work from. This paper will look at the benefits of incorporating all six of these functions into a working plan when health officials, medical personnel, first responders, etc., encounter a disease or illness that needs to be identified, treated and contained.

A famous epidemiologist once said “Epidemiologist is like a bikini: what is revealed is interesting; what is concealed is crucial” (Duesberg). Epidemiology is the study of diseases and informs the public about health epidemics and new health standards put in place. A typical day for an epidemiologist is as follows: they usually work in laboratories, businesses, and offices where they discover many diseases and conduct research while also finding cures for new malignant diseases. Epidemiologist also focuses on medicine for example, they create new antibiotics for vicious diseases or create vaccines to help combat diseases. In order to become an epidemiologist, it would take 4 years as an undergraduate and obtain a Masters in Biology or Public Health. During high school, it is required to take 1 year of Biology and Chemistry or to obtain some kind of science background in order to help me get better prepared. In this paper, I will argue why I selected to pursue a career as an Epidemiologist based on prior knowledge and interest in public health & Biology, health epidemics and experiments/case studies.

Throughout the Age of AIDS film many topics that were related to AIDS were brought up that I did not know anything about before. I did not know that there could so many strings attached to a disease and have such an influence in people’s lives whether it was negative or positive.

During childhood we are given vaccinations and as we get older we are given more. These vaccinations are to help our bodies protect us against various strains of diseases and viruses. Now in the twentieth century there are multiple crippling diseases that are almost if not already extinct. All of this is due to vaccinations and public health recommendations. To have the health system we have today we first had to create and develop public health, bring this entity into our decade and then continue to manage the framework to benefit the requirements of today’s health topics.

This, in fact, was something I liked about the video because it revealed to me exactly how much I have learned over the course of this class. An example of this is when Don Francis was discussed in the film. Don Francis is a CDC member I recognized from the Randy Shilt’s book, And the Band Played On, and in other additional readings from class. One thing Francis was known for was his public speaking about blunt attitude. In the film, it even mentions Francis talking to potential donors trying to receive funding for research, so they could find a cure to the epidemic. In the documentary Francis says “I pounded the table and yelled at them asking them how many people they wanted to kill. And I just said [unintelligible] "Just tell us the number. You want 10 dead? Do you want 20 dead? Do you want 100 dead?" That didn't go down very well,” (Cran). This quote is significant because it shows how despite the clear need that funding was needed, high ranking government agencies were still being languid in their decision. Most of the time this was due to them just not wanting to to lose money if they did not have to. Unfortunately, this also reveals that their motives for health care is to make money solely. Knowing all of this is also significant to me because just a couple months ago, I knew nothing about Don Francis. Now I know way

I am concerned with preventive health-care policies and how a proactive approach to disease can alleviate the disparities and prevalence of disease distributions. Furthermore, I want to effect change at the community level as opposed to the individual. I believe that a Master's of Public Health degree is a natural fit for me, one that will provide me with the big picture of health-care that I seek. Additionally, I believe that my interests and career aspirations will be best suited for the Epidemiology focus of Public Health. This advanced degree will give me the tools to strive for my career

HIV is global pandemic stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, weakens the immune system by destroying the important cells in our body that fights against disease and infection. Our immune system is able to clear out most of the viruses from our body, but once you have HIV , you have it for lifelong. HIV can hide in our body cells for long time and it can attack the T cells and CD4 cells, a key part of our immune system to fight infections and diseases. Overtime, the HIV may attack so many of CD4 cells and our body is no more able to fight against infections. When this happens, HIV can lead to AIDS, the final stage of HIV infection. HIV can be transmitted through sexual contact, injection or drug use, pregnancy, breast feeding, occupational exposure, and rarely through blood transfusion and organ

In the 1980s, a mysterious disease began to take the lives of Americans. With the cause unknown, a fear grew among Americans. An unusually high rate of people was becoming sick with strange and rare diseases. When experimental treatments failed to work, people died. This mysterious disease is what we now know as HIV–Human Immunodeficiency Virus. In the past thirty-five years, the HIV has taken many turns in history. Although we do not hear about HIV and AIDS now, it is still a prevalent issue in the United States and in the world.