I learned more than I originally thought I would.
The things I was not expecting to learn about were the infection chances on a per sexual encounter basis, the social stigma related to any STI, and the horrible things that happened to people in the Tuskegee study. I was not expecting so much time to be concentrated on HIV/AIDS but it was interesting still.
The most useful information was the stuff showed us how to prevent the spread of STI's. The anthology was also good because it made us find out more information on topics related to STI problems in other areas beside the United States.
The least useful was learning about the biology behind the STI's because it is not necessary to know this if all people are doing is trying to prevent from getting it. Learning it was kind of like an added bonus you really do not need it but it makes the way you get infected more clear.
For next time I would change the any lectures that had to do with biology of the STI's more interesting, how you would do this I do not know, it was dry and boring compared to the rest of the class.
Yes, this topic should be taught at a university level because it allows people to learn about a problem that will probably never go away. It will also teach people how to be more aware of what they are doing in order to prevent the further spread of STI's.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Bob's Impact
Bob Skinner taught me that living with AIDS is an expensive adventure if you do not have the proper help. The medications cost a fortune but there is help for purchasing these drugs. He told me that living with AIDS is a life changing experience, you need to change everything. To be healthy and live with AIDS you must take your cocktail of medications, exercise, and eat right. He explained some of the side effects that come with taking the medication and how some people avoid taking the drugs because of the side effects.
Bob's experience is probably very similar to those living in developed countries because aid is available and more and more people are starting to understand how AIDS works. When it comes to developing countries his experience was far different. In developing countries an AIDS diagnosis is a death sentence because the country does not have the resources to provide medication to people and there is less education to inform people on what they can do to prevent and help slow down the process of AIDS. Also in other areas the stigma related to AIDS is different in some cultures if you contracted AIDS you would probably be completely abandoned by people.
HIV transmission in rural areas is spread primarily through heterosexual means. The social factors limiting its prevention are that AIDS is a gay related disease so heterosexuals are less likely to use protection and be aware of the risk they are taking.
Living in a rural area makes HIV difficult to treat because they are far away from health care. The people that live in rural areas are often poor and have a low education so they are unaware of the risks involved with HIV and how to prevent its spread.
Bob's experience is probably very similar to those living in developed countries because aid is available and more and more people are starting to understand how AIDS works. When it comes to developing countries his experience was far different. In developing countries an AIDS diagnosis is a death sentence because the country does not have the resources to provide medication to people and there is less education to inform people on what they can do to prevent and help slow down the process of AIDS. Also in other areas the stigma related to AIDS is different in some cultures if you contracted AIDS you would probably be completely abandoned by people.
HIV transmission in rural areas is spread primarily through heterosexual means. The social factors limiting its prevention are that AIDS is a gay related disease so heterosexuals are less likely to use protection and be aware of the risk they are taking.
Living in a rural area makes HIV difficult to treat because they are far away from health care. The people that live in rural areas are often poor and have a low education so they are unaware of the risks involved with HIV and how to prevent its spread.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
HIV Theories
The hunter theory goes on the principle of the virus spreading from a simian to a human through blood to blood contact. This contact occurs after the hunters have killed the simian and are getting it prepared to be cooked by either cutting themselves while skinning or just from eating the meat.
The transmission of the virus throughout the world is unknown for sure but it could have started with these hunters moving to civilization and having sex.
The conspiracy theory suggests that HIV was a man made virus created to kill blacks and homosexuals. The virus would have spread through the smallpox inoculation program or to gay men through hepatitis B vaccine. I do not believe this is a very good theory mainly because I believe if the government was to create a biological weapon to kill blacks and gays they would make something that would work faster than HIV.
The hunter theory is the most plausible to me. This is because a virus has an incredible ability to evolve in a host. The ability for a virus to change and that fact that primates are so similar to humans makes it an ideal situation to adapt.
Yes I believe it is important to understand how the virus was transmitted to humans because if one can find the source of the problem it can lead to a solution in preventing and curing the problem. If it came from the simians scientists might be able to make some vaccine that comes from simians to cure the virus.
The transmission of the virus throughout the world is unknown for sure but it could have started with these hunters moving to civilization and having sex.
The conspiracy theory suggests that HIV was a man made virus created to kill blacks and homosexuals. The virus would have spread through the smallpox inoculation program or to gay men through hepatitis B vaccine. I do not believe this is a very good theory mainly because I believe if the government was to create a biological weapon to kill blacks and gays they would make something that would work faster than HIV.
The hunter theory is the most plausible to me. This is because a virus has an incredible ability to evolve in a host. The ability for a virus to change and that fact that primates are so similar to humans makes it an ideal situation to adapt.
Yes I believe it is important to understand how the virus was transmitted to humans because if one can find the source of the problem it can lead to a solution in preventing and curing the problem. If it came from the simians scientists might be able to make some vaccine that comes from simians to cure the virus.
Whites Priviledge
I found this article by Peggy McIntosh to be very difficult to fully accept. Some of the points made were valid but she failed to state the measures made by people to make up for the past misfortunes of non-white people. Also civilization is an evolving entity, in order to ensure the majority of the population is happy. What was once believed to be fair in the past has changed over time as people have come to realize that equality between all different races.
In my experience now I find over-representation in minority groups. This is everywhere in the media. If you turn on the TV or open a magazine I can almost guarantee that there will be far more minority representation than is required to determine the proportion of the population they make up.
Anyway if racism was a prominent part of health care it would have a drastic impact on the ability for minorities to receive treatment. There would be more studies that abused the underprivileged and uneducated individuals of the world.
In my experience now I find over-representation in minority groups. This is everywhere in the media. If you turn on the TV or open a magazine I can almost guarantee that there will be far more minority representation than is required to determine the proportion of the population they make up.
Anyway if racism was a prominent part of health care it would have a drastic impact on the ability for minorities to receive treatment. There would be more studies that abused the underprivileged and uneducated individuals of the world.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Chlamydia Prevention through Condoms
I chose an ad by Lafa, Stockholm Aids prevention program. The ads are focused on the use of condoms to prevent the spread of chlamydia. These ads are a letter from an infected individual to the person they may have spread chlamydia to. The letters apologize for the inconvenience and suggest that they get tested for the infection. To end the ad there is a black box in the bottom right corner that states "Condom. Still the easiest way to avoid anxiety."
These ads do use a fear method. They try to get you to realize how difficult it would be to tell someone they may have contracted chlamydia from you. Also it is telling you that if you were to just use a condom the whole situation could be avoided. While this is not entirely true because condoms can fail and the transmission of the infection will still occur. The chances of spreading chlamydia with the use of a condom drop significantly.
The age group this ad is focusing on is all ages that are sexually active. The ad is rather lengthy in what you need to read though which makes it less effective than a simple few words. To get the entire message you would need to read nearly an entire page of text, which I believe would turn many people away from actually looking at it.
I believe the media can play a big role in the prevention and education of STI's. Everyone watches T.V. and looks at their surroundings enough to see what is being advertised. If they put up more safer sex messages it would only help people realize what they should be doing to be healthier individuals and make the proper decisions.
These ads do use a fear method. They try to get you to realize how difficult it would be to tell someone they may have contracted chlamydia from you. Also it is telling you that if you were to just use a condom the whole situation could be avoided. While this is not entirely true because condoms can fail and the transmission of the infection will still occur. The chances of spreading chlamydia with the use of a condom drop significantly.
The age group this ad is focusing on is all ages that are sexually active. The ad is rather lengthy in what you need to read though which makes it less effective than a simple few words. To get the entire message you would need to read nearly an entire page of text, which I believe would turn many people away from actually looking at it.
I believe the media can play a big role in the prevention and education of STI's. Everyone watches T.V. and looks at their surroundings enough to see what is being advertised. If they put up more safer sex messages it would only help people realize what they should be doing to be healthier individuals and make the proper decisions.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Syphilis Study Apology
The Tuskegee syphilis study was a clinical study done between the years of 1932 and 1972. It was located in Tuskegee, Alabama. The study was conducted by the U.S. Public health Service, it was designed to follow the natural progression of syphilis in untreated patients. The patients used were poor uneducated African American's, they were coerced into being patients by being told they would receive various benefits if they continued with the study/treatment of their "Bad Blood" disease. By 1947 penicillin was available to cure syphilis but the patients in the study were left untreated and even pulled from treatment if they somehow managed to get it to ensure the results of the study would stay true. Even with all the bad that came from the study it did have a benefit, it made people realize they need to make rules and regulations behind clinical studies to protect the patients.
The apology was first directed at the survivors of the study, then to the county it was preformed in. After Clinton made the formal apology he gave ways for the apology to have merit in the future. He stated various ways to make the African American community's trust in the U.S. increase. Also Clinton gave reasons as to why the study went the way it did, that health care providers forgot their primary goal of maintaining health and instead worked on research to just improve the future.
My reaction to the apology was, why did it take so long. Considering how immoral the study was and being found out about in 1972, I would have thought the government would want apologize much sooner out of respect for the people that were harmed in the study. Having to wait the 25 years for an apology seems to me like the people who were responsible for the study were unable to take responsibility for their actions and just hid in shame in the hope it would not reemerge again to haunt them. In all the apology was a good one it apologized on the personal level and the community level for the actions done.
The apology was first directed at the survivors of the study, then to the county it was preformed in. After Clinton made the formal apology he gave ways for the apology to have merit in the future. He stated various ways to make the African American community's trust in the U.S. increase. Also Clinton gave reasons as to why the study went the way it did, that health care providers forgot their primary goal of maintaining health and instead worked on research to just improve the future.
My reaction to the apology was, why did it take so long. Considering how immoral the study was and being found out about in 1972, I would have thought the government would want apologize much sooner out of respect for the people that were harmed in the study. Having to wait the 25 years for an apology seems to me like the people who were responsible for the study were unable to take responsibility for their actions and just hid in shame in the hope it would not reemerge again to haunt them. In all the apology was a good one it apologized on the personal level and the community level for the actions done.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
TB and its Future Health Concerns
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is a rising concern among doctors. It is primarily caused by people who mismanage their prescriptions in curing regular TB. The regular TB is curable in six months where as the MDR TB takes up to two years to fully cure, because of this it is recommended that treatment for TB be done in the view and care of someone that can make sure the person is taking the medicine as directed. If the medicine is used incorrectly then the formation of MDR TB results.
The major reason why we should be concerned with MDR TB is because of how much more difficult it is to treat. The normal drugs used become less effective and that means that a stronger more invasive drug must be used instead to fix the problem. Since this MDR TB is harder to fix it has a higher mortality rate to go along with it.
I personally am not overly concerned with getting TB. This is because it is most prolific in poorly ventilated homes that are also crowded. Since in the US we have many standards for building quality I believe that contracting TB is one of the last things to concern myself with. Although if I were to travel or come into prolonged contact with someone or place that was more encouraging of the transmission of TB I would want to get checked for it.
MDR TB has most likely led to many improvements in how to deal with drugs that can adapt quickly to treatment if misuse occurs. Doctors are probably more prone to make sure if a serious disease is being treated that they make sure the patient is under survaliance of some form to ensure they are taking the medication properly. The discovery of resistant infections has probably led many scientists and doctors to also realize that they need to be careful when prescribing certian drugs as to not enhance the resistance of infections but also to make sure they create a drug that will last the longest and be most successful in treatment.
The major reason why we should be concerned with MDR TB is because of how much more difficult it is to treat. The normal drugs used become less effective and that means that a stronger more invasive drug must be used instead to fix the problem. Since this MDR TB is harder to fix it has a higher mortality rate to go along with it.
I personally am not overly concerned with getting TB. This is because it is most prolific in poorly ventilated homes that are also crowded. Since in the US we have many standards for building quality I believe that contracting TB is one of the last things to concern myself with. Although if I were to travel or come into prolonged contact with someone or place that was more encouraging of the transmission of TB I would want to get checked for it.
MDR TB has most likely led to many improvements in how to deal with drugs that can adapt quickly to treatment if misuse occurs. Doctors are probably more prone to make sure if a serious disease is being treated that they make sure the patient is under survaliance of some form to ensure they are taking the medication properly. The discovery of resistant infections has probably led many scientists and doctors to also realize that they need to be careful when prescribing certian drugs as to not enhance the resistance of infections but also to make sure they create a drug that will last the longest and be most successful in treatment.
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