CASE STUDY #2:
Preventing HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Thailand
Miami Dade College
Abstract
Our second team project answers five questions about Case Study #2, Preventing HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Thailand and Chapter 10, Introduction to Global Health. This project will talk about the characteristics of the high-risk population that permitted this intervention to work and the implications of this for replication in other settings. It will explain why Thailand is a model for programs in other countries. Since cost-effectiveness assessment was never done for this program, it will evaluate the assessments that should have taken into account in terms of costs measured.
…show more content…
The budget spent on this program represented only 1.9% and about 200,000 new infections were averted in 7 years, and the rate of STI also fell dramatically.
Though the government did not condone prostitution, they were aware that they could not control it the disease was spreading fast with drug users, sex workers, those with STIs and blood donors was so immense in addition to the economic impact it made that they made a realistic approach to problem solve and contain it.
This is an example of being proactive to a situation where cooperation among the government, police and its people through the media and programs implemented were able to reduce such a devastating disease that along claiming human life, is also expensive to treat in the long run causing a economic impact.
3. A cost-effective assessment was never done for this program. What should such an assessment have taken into account in terms of costs measured?
HIV and AIDS have had a great impacted throughout varies countries. As an illness with no none cure, it is essential to promote prevention among those at risk. Thailand’s “No Condom, NO sex: The 100% Condom program” was successful at greatly reducing the cases of new HIV infection cases (Levine, 2007, p.10). Thailand’s program has the advantage to serve as a building block to many other countries experiencing high levels of HIV/AIDS infection, but is limited due to
The risks of becoming infected and spreading diseases when involved in prostitution are high, but if legalized, regulations can be made that would provide the proper health care. The life story of a woman named Irina in an article, “For The Legalization of prostitution,” shared her personal experiences she had to overcome in her line of work. Irina stated that she faced many challenges, such as “…6 abortions and a bunch of diseases” (Amanzholova, and Akhmetova 45). This statement alone shows that diseases are not the only medical aspects that affect the lives of those involved in prostitution. Unwanted pregnancies and abortions are also high risk
Throughout history, contagious diseases and prostitution have been closely bound together. Contagious diseases are an interesting topic since they were endemic in the nineteenth century and their consequences were severe, producing a lot of deaths.
Such practice was illegal under certain terms. Prostitution was allowed to women who were registered and had a license. As long as they paid their dues to the government they were legal to proceed with their practices. Majority of the women who practiced such were women typically in poverty. Middle and upper class financed most of these practices.
1. Comment on the Brazilian and Indian government’s strategies for the prevention of AIDS via the marketing of condoms.
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
A study on HIV infections found that accessible sexually transmitted disease (STD) screening, community-directed interventions, sex education and services were the most beneficial (Kessler, Myers, Nucifora, Mensah, Kowalski, Sweeney, Braithwaite, 2013). However these services are not used prominently due to inconvenience, cultural reasons, and distrust towards the programs (Ma, Raymond, Wilson, McFarland, Lu, Ding, Xiao, 2012). These services need to become more community friendly, accessible and safe in order to engage the public (Ma et al., 2012). Governments cannot enforce the usage of these services but early HIV education in schools can be mandated to help eliminate stigmas and encourage usage of these services (Felten, Kok, & Kocken, 2016). Prevention measures work because they target HIV’s modifiable risk factors through education, circumcision, condoms, and a variety of other approaches (Kessler et al., 2013). Adequate prevention measures are needed to prevent negligence and
1. Comment on the Brazilian and Indian governments’ strategies for the prevention of AIDS via the marketing of condoms.
In the sub-Saharan Africa, the majority of the population suffers from HIV leading to AIDS. The culprits responsible for this epidemic include the lack of knowledge about the disease, disuse of condoms due to religious practices and the overall poor hygiene. If left untreated, the rampant surge of AIDS can terrribly impact the cost of their healthcare, the African economy and the welfare of the people. This implications justify immediately finding remedies to what ails the sub-Saharan population.
Prostitution is a controversial issue that has been around since the beginning of time and has recently became a major problem in today’s society. Prostitution is defined as the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment. Prostitution is often times referred to as “the oldest profession in the business”. It is prohibited in several countries, the United States included, though in some countries it is accepted and is legal in many others. Today, prostitution is so controversial because of the number of youth involved in it. Those who oppose prostitution are against it because it endangers a big portion of women with diseases and can also be considered as a form of slavery. Due to the fact that prostitution increases the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs, while also destroying the image of areas it has heavily polluted, along with the morality of the women involved in it, it is seen as a practice that needs to be done away with, or mandated by the government.
The honesty box tries to bring out hidden facts behind the myths told by various researchers concerning HIV/AIDS. Some of these myths are based on the data presented which are usually inflated to favor funding and to act as a precautionary measure that AIDS exists everywhere. The book opens the ‘honesty box’ on drawbacks of medical research within the tropics. Pisani tackles highly contentious issues with zest, including the possible public health shortcoming of antiretroviral treatment, in addition to the benefits of mandatory HIV/AIDS testing. The author also presents data to show that if couples living in Thailand were to have further premarital sex, then their men would be the least likely to use commercial sex workers and the
The sources the authors use to support their evidence is strong. Both authors are considered experts in their field. Peter Navario is the Executive Director of HealthRight International, which is a global health National Government Organization dedicated to improving the health of populations around the world. Navario is the Director of Global Health Strategy and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Global Health at New York University’s College of Global Public Health (“Peter Navario”). Previously Navario was a Technical Advisor at the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in New York, where he held various collections including the United Nations post-2015 development agenda, the 2011 UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS' High Level Commission on HIV Prevention, and the UN Secretary-General's Global Strategy on Women's and Children's Health (“Peter Navario”).
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 stands for human immunodeficiency virus (Avert). It is virus that attacks the immune system, our body’s defense against disease (Avert). Individuals who become infected with HIV will find it harder to fight infections (Avert). HIV is located in semen, blood, vaginal and anal fluids, and breast milk (HIV and Aids). The most common method to become infected is through anal or vaginal sex without a condom (HIV and Aids). Other forms of contraction include using infected needles/ syringes, from mother to child during pregnancy, or breastfeeding (HIV and Aids). If left untreated, AIDS can evolve, this is when a person’s immune system becomes too weak to fight infection and can no longer defend itself (What is AIDS). Despite there not being a cure, an early diagnosis and effective treatment can enable people to live a normal, healthy life (HIV and Aids). This paper will focus on the HIV epidemic. It will compare and contrast HIV in the United States and in Kenya. The paper will review the specific populations affected, testing and counseling centers, funding and economic impact, and prevention programs each country is executing.
Juusola et al. (2012) added to this literature with a study of the cost-effectiveness of daily oral PrEP for MSM. Using a detailed economic analysis combined with the dynamic progression and transmission of HIV/AIDS model, the researchers assessed PrEP cost-effectiveness (based on clinical trials showing a 44 percent reduction in infection) in the general MSM population, and among high-risk MSM. The results indicate that initiating PrEP in 20 percent of U.S. MSM over 20 years would yield a 13 percent reduction in new infections, for a gain of 550,166 QALYs, at a cost $172,091 per QALY gained. Were PrEP to be initiated in a larger proportion of MSM, more new infections would be averted but at a rising cost per QALY gained. On the other
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].