UMUHOZA Marie Chantal,
MMPH 00077 – UNIT 1 – INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
The Role and Nature of Public Health Research
Selecting a Research Topic
REASEARCH TOPIC TITTLE:
Elimination of the Mother To Child Transmission of HIV (eMTCT) program: An evaluation of practices by health care workers in selected Primary health care centers, Zambia.
IMPORTANCE OF THE CHOSEN HEALTH ISSUE:
In Zambia, 13% of adults age 15-49 are infected with HIV. 15% of them are women and 11 percent are men (dhsprogram.com, 2015). 16.4% of pregnant women attending antenatal clinics are HIV positive and 35% of all HIV exposed babies are born HIV positive (Unicef.org, 2015). This also in line with the National AIDS Council statistics where they said that 80,000 infant born
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The PMTCT service scale up contributed in reduction of HIV transmission from 24% in 2009 to 12% in 2012 and 9% in 2009 (Avert.org, no date), however, indicators such us pregnant women who received effective ART to reduce the HIV transmission to their babies as well as the number of HIV exposed infant being tested within their first 2 months reduced considerably (Avert.org, no date).
In addition to providing ART drugs, Zambia was also able to eradicate some of the issues such as lack of male partners’ involvement, stigma and discrimination and significantly reduced the number of pregnant mother delivering at home.
GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE ON THE TOPIC
It is still to be evaluated if there is any possible association between the low achievement of eMTCT and the HCW in Zambia. Furthermore, an evaluation of a possible association of the poor attitude of HCW and the lack of knowledge in PMTCT practices is to be identified.
In Nigeria, it was reported that there “there was a wide gap exists between the knowledge of and attitude towards PMTCT of HIV/AIDS” (Aishat and Olubunmi, 2016). The research suggest that Quality and access of PMTCT services is likely to be affected if countries do not make effort in continuous training of HCW.
PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT:
Despite the fact that the Implementation of the above mentioned guidelines contributed in reducing the number of HIV infected children, the country has not yet reached its goal of eliminating HIV
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
Of the 35 million people living with HIV in the world, 19 million do not know their HIV-positive status. Adolescent girls and young women account for one in four new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa. Women are much more vulnerable to HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis B and C than the general public. Which is supported by this excerpt from a recent AIDSTAR-One regional report “Women and girls often face discrimination in terms of access to education, employment and healthcare. In this region, men often dominate sexual relationships. As a result, women cannot always practice safer sex even when they know the risks involved. Gender-based violence has been identified as a key driver of HIV transmission in the region.” (Ellsberg, Betron 2010) Many children are affected by the disease in a number of ways: they live with sick parents and relatives in households drained of resources due to the epidemic, and those who have lost parents are less likely to go to school or continue their education. Studies in the regions of Southern Africa and South-East Asia have found HIV/AIDS to negatively impact both the demand for and supply of education. Orphaned children are either pulled out of school or not enrolled at all due to the financial constraints of
In The Invisible Cure, Helen Epstein talks about why HIV/AIDS rate is so high in Africa compared to the rest of the world. Through the book, she gives us an account of the disease and the struggles that many health experts and ordinary Africans went through to understand this disease, and how different African countries approached the same problem differently. Through this paper, I will first address the different ways Uganda and Southern African countries, South Africa and Botswana in particular, dealt with this epidemic, and then explain how we can use what we have learned from these African countries to control outbreaks of communicable disease elsewhere around the world.
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
As mentioned above, the spread of disease from mother to child was becoming an increasing problem in South Africa: by 2000, the prevalence of HIV among pregnant women had risen to nearly 21%; one rural
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 2010, all countries in the Americas committed to eliminating HIV transmission between mother and child by 2020 4. Three decades after the AIDS epidemic started,
Progress in decreasing new HIV infections among adults has slowed in recent years. Since 2010, the annual number of new infections among adults (15+) has remained static at 1.9
This epidemic leads to a high mortality rate as well as a lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality
HIV is an epidemic that is present worldwide, the disease is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa for the most part. In context, of the estimated thirty-four million cases of HIV in 2008, twenty-two to twenty-three cases were in sub-Saharan Africa. On the contrary, 1.4 million people are infected with HIV in North America. (Sigall K. Bell, MD, 2011, p. 38). Further, the sum of global infections approximately two million are under fifteen of age. Approximately 50,000 cases a year are in the United States due to the lack of prevention, which then leads to overall prevention. Potential causes of the spreading of HIV are non-effective educational messages along with the high-risk sexual behavior. Also, this just calls for increasing chances of acquiring
In 2014, 1.2 million people died from HIV and its related causes. In the same year, about 36.9 million people were living with HIV. Among these, 2 million were newly infected in 2014. The rate of infection has reduced by 35% between the years of 2000 and 2015. Between the same years, mortality due to HIV fell by 24%. The area with the most HIV/AIDS victims is Sub-Saharan Africa. In this region, 25.8 million people were living with HIV in 2014. The region also has 70% of the newly infected victims in the world. It is very unfortunate that more than 50% of people with HIV know that they have it. HIV testing efforts have improved with 150 million in 129 low and middle income counties getting tested. It was reported in 2015 that 15.8 million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy (World Health Organization,
In countries with low prevalence such as Sierra Leone, AIDS should be normalized and treated as a public health issue--but replies must
They tested dried blood spot samples from infants 3 months of age and older presenting for their first immunization visit for maternal HIV antibodies and subsequently for HIV.
The HIV and AIDS pandemic remains one the most serious development crises in the world (WHO, 2006). Women and children bear a disproportionate share of the burden, and in many settings continue to experience high rates of new HIV infections and of HIV-related illness and death. In 2005 alone, an estimated 540 000 children were newly infected with HIV, with about
Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the world that is most affected by HIV/AIDS. The United Nations reports that an estimated 25.4 million people are living with HIV and that approximately 3.1 million new infections occurred in 2004. To put these figures in context, more than 60 percent of the people living with the infection reside in Africa. Even these staggering figures do not quite capture the true extent and impact that this disease causes on the continent. In 1998, about 200,000 Africans died as a result of various wars taking place on the continent. In that same year, more than 2 million succumbed to HIV/AIDS (Botchwey, 2000).