Positive And Negative Factors Affecting Quality Of Life For Women With Hiv / Aids

When it came to differing views between western beliefs and the native point of view, one of the bigger problems was the conflict about contraception and stopping the spread of HIV and AIDS. Southern Africa, were the Dobe Ju’/hoansi subside, has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. “[T] he world U/N. figures for June 2000 show a seropositive rate among adults of 19.54 percent in Namibia, 19.94 percent in South Africa, and a staggering 35.8 percent in Botswana (Lee 2003: 190).” Because of the epidemic the life expectancy in the area has also drastically dropped. Western medical professionals have made clear to most communities that condoms are the most effective protection from HIV/AIDs. Because of this many western clinics and organizations in Africa distribute condoms to the local people. Regardless of the

Religion plays a major role in our society, especially within the homeless community. Spirituality helps the homeless emotional and mentally, it helps them mange the challenges they must face day to day. Practicing spirituality is often used as a coping mechanism, it’s a source of strength and comfort. Religion gives meaning and purpose to life. Religion also reinforces social unity and stability. Emile Durkheim said “there are two ways religion strengthens social stability. One, it gives people common beliefs, which is important in socialization. Secondly, it brings people together” (Barkens, 2014).

The infection rates of HIV in women ages 15-24 is approximately twice as high as men in the same age group. Access to sexual and reproductive health services in Africa is restricted by the gender inequality, stigma and discrimination in the face of high HIV/AIDS prevalence. The study is limited to 2 cities, Uyo and Calabar; major centers of HIV/AIDS response. Interviews reveal that large numbers of people, especially from rural regions, are improperly informed and unaware of the nature of HIV/AIDS. An outreach program displayed HIV prevention messages, but the signs were in English. Access to ART can be difficult. Poorer women cannot afford repeat visits to clinics. Societal issues are present; HIV/AIDS stigma is widespread and families will outcast individuals, denying them of any support. The study also showed a declining confidence in ART as a form of treatment. Respondents reported cases of those on HIV/AIDS treatment who developed further infections. The article displays the need for better education and programs to help people access treatment for

Treatment outcome predictors of African American culture are that one may attend church services weekly to praise and worship. While attending services one will depend on his or her belief in God and worship in faith with a commitment to themselves and God. Spirituality is a strategy one will use to cope with events or experiences within his or her life that is stressful. These strategies are considered external, support from religious beliefs such as prayer, reading the bible, and the reflections of one’s belief. Spirituality is also seen as an integral to health and a sense of one having the feeling of wholeness or well being (Britt, 2004).

Harris explains that theses exertions became a matter of life and death during the early 1980s when predominately male African-American male congregants, pastors and other church members became sick from an unknown illness which later became recognized as the autoimmune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). AIDS and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has a superfluous effect on the black community. African-Americans accumulate nearly half of most HIV and AIDS diagnoses. The delayed response of black leaders to the epidemic was another factor that incited the highly prevalent rates of HIV and AIDS cases within the African-American community. Along with affected gay men, prostitutes and intravenous drug users became infected as well; Harris further reports that those people were considered “degenerates” and “immoral” by black church leaders. Trailing back to the days of slavery, black religious leaders assisted as freedom fighters of social justice for oppressed African-Americans. Those affected with the disease looked to religious leadership for spiritual support and to bring the disease to light. However instead of the desired support, they were faced with disdain and denunciation at the lifestyle as black leaders believed caused the individuals to be affected with the disease. Furthermore, Harris addresses that many gay men who died from the disease were restricted from being buried beside their home churches. This

Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a world range condition, which has a great impact on the society. This essay is going to explore how stigma and discrimination impact on a vulnerable group people, and as well as how health care system impact on this group of people. Furthermore, the essay is focusing on a vulnerable group of people, which are women, living in two districted country: Australia and South Africa. Furthermore, the situation in Australia is represented as a developed country, whereas South Africa is represented the third world, and these two factors of social determinants of health are going to compare and contrast between these two countries. According to the estimated in 2015 by UNIAIDS, there are 6.7 to 7.4 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) in South Africa and the HIV prevalence rate is 18.9% (UNIAIDS, 2015a), and there are 24 to 30 thousands PLHIV in Australia and the HIV prevalence rate is 0.2%(UNIAIDS, 2015b).

“Since the beginning of the AIDS pandemic, 1.7 million Americans have been infected with HIV and more than six hundred and fifty thousand have died of AIDS.” (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). AIDS is a serious disease that needs to be treated from an early stage so that it helps long-term health from deteriorating. There are many scientists that have tried to form a vaccine for AIDS to help people around the world that suffer with it. Helen Epstein worked as a scientist in Africa in search of an AIDS vaccine. “AIDS INC” is a chapter from her book The Invisible Cure where Epstein observes different prevention programs in Africa. Its hard for the individuals in Africa to trust scientists coming from other countries and talk openly with them and that contributes toward social cohesion. Despite the fact that social cohesion has many different definitions Epstein focuses on talking openly with

Looking through the theme of Development Issues of women and health on women’s health, specifically empowerment of women and improving maternal health, I focus on the mothers2mothers organization. These constraints are being limited for the sake of this paper to the stigma of HIV positive mothers and the discriminatory medical services that are then placed on HIV positive mothers in South Africa. This raises the problem of mothers identifying as HIV positive in South Africa as they are then being stigmatized, therefore I will be asking, how does the organization takes steps in order to help protect the women from stigmitation as they are in the prevent[ion] mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) program? Analyzing the constraints of participation of HIV positive mothers leads to the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS infection, the lack of women’s empowerment, and the deficiency of appropriate and culturally sensitive clinical support services, even in facilities providing PMTCT services, means that many women go through their ordeal alone, confused and afraid.

AIDS is a worldwide epidemic that has affected and is affecting millions of people. Even though it was not discovered until 1982 many stereotypes have come along with it. Mary Fisher is an AIDS community member and is not afraid to stand up and say so. Defending and helping those with HIV/AIDS and helping them spread the word instead of keeping silent. In 1991 she found out that she had contracted the disease from her second husband and now Fisher is one of the world’s leading activists in the fight against HIV/AIDS. (Newman, 2010)

Hope Haslam Straughan Within the social work profession, there is a growing movement affirming that spirituality and religious beliefs are integral to the nature of the person and have a vital influence on human behavior (Hugen, 1998). Canda (1988) identifies spirituality as a basic aspect of human experience, both within and outside the context of religious institutions. If a social worker is going to approach a person in a holistic manner, he or she must be willing to consider each person as a wondrous compilation of bio-psycho-social-spiritual elements. In this way, workers will have an extremely broad base from which to approach the strength and resiliency in the people with whom they interact.

These can ultimately influence the person suffering to ignore or refuse treatment (Cinnirella & Loewenthal, 1999). It is particularly seen within ethnic minority groups who negatively stigmatize mental health problems within their culture (Mind, 2013), mainly due to differing beliefs of the underlying cause (Knifton, et al., 2010). In some cases, particularly ethnic minorities, a few may seek help that is more suited to their cultural beliefs such as herbal medicine or spiritual healing. Cinnirella & Loewenthal (1999) found that female Afro-Caribbean Christians (non-white) and female Pakistani Muslims (non-white) and Jewish females all preferred prayer in response to dealing with mental health problems. This study was based on only 52 participants categorized into 5 groups; therefore, caution is needed not to over-generalize the results. However, from the limited information this research has given, it has highlighted that there was a fear of misunderstanding from out group health professionals and that personal prayer was a preferable coping strategy for seeking other treatment because of the stigma attached to it (Cinnirella & Loewenthal,

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.

Candomblé is a religion that distinguishes itself among religions because it seeks to actively help people, even in matters that may not be necessarily related to spirituality. The Candomblé community has even gone out to help those that may not share their same beliefs. In Brazil, when the aids epidemic surged in the 1980’s, the community of Candomblé was actively involved in not only containing the infectious disease but also in spreading awareness to others about the nature of the illness. The Candomblé community even went as far as to provide some forms of natural treatment, housing, and acceptance to those who contracted the disease. The actions taken by this community motivated me to write about this topic, as I’ve not witnessed many

HIV is a personal experience, but too often HIV care is seen as the burden of the individual, a situation that the person brought on themselves (Melton, 2011). However, one's personal experience is often larger than just the individual. The burden of finding relevant HIV information and care should never be placed solely on the shoulders of those grappling with the disease and the stigma attached to it. Just as social constructions and institutional inadequacies have gotten HIV positive black women to the point where they must find support within their own community, the repair of those institutions and rejection of those social constructions will aid HIV positive black women. The resilience of black women and what they have learned just by talking to each other will be crucial in the success of HIV programming, which should rely on an understanding of medicine and as well as an appreciation of the lived experiences of black women living with HIV. Black women, HIV programs, medical professionals, and even lawmaking bodies can and should work together to disseminate knowledge and form the best possible plan of action to reach HIV positive black women (Purcell & McCree, 2009). HIV outreach is not a zero-sum game; in order to achieve lower rates of HIV and more knowledge in the hands of HIV positive black women, cooperation is truly

15. Women and HIV related MDGs, its target and impact of HIV to achieve the target