Social work intervention in prevention and control of HIV/AIDS

Individuals living with HIV/AIDS vary across a wide and diverse spectrum of wealth, races, religions and cultures, and many may benefit from the support interventions of a case manager. Case managers can assist individuals in finding additional services and help to live longer and more comfortably while living with the disease and reduce the risk of them falling through the cracks.

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).

Even though there is a rapid advancement in medical inventions, still the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the most challenging virus that will drag the human lives to the deadly disease acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It spreads its wings all over. HIV cannot be cured, but it can be prevented. It has become the greatest life threatening disease and affects unbelievably high percent of human beings. Nowadays, besides other deadly diseases, HIV/AIDS becomes more complex and crucial health issue that challenges several medical inventions. Several contributors cause this deadly virus and disease such as promiscuity, homosexuality, female circumcision, sugar daddies, sexual crime, rape, prostitution, cultural

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 recent years, India has seen some improvement in certain regions in terms of prevalence. As a whole, India has placed itself on the same trajectory as Africa. But this problem cannot be attributed to just one cause. India’s unique culture, environmental/economical conditions, and standard of living have all had significant implication on this problem. (HIV/AIDS)

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.

Since the first cases of HIV were detected among female sex workers (FSW) in Chennai, India in 1986, dramatic progress has been made in the last three decades in the battle against HIV both in India and globally (Mayer, 2011). Despite this progress, new infections continue to occur - in 2012, there were an estimated 2.3 million persons newly infected with HIV globally (UNAIDS, 2013). Many new infections often occur within the context of a serodiscordant relationship – an infected partner in a relationship transmits HIV to the uninfected partner. Over the past thirty years, several interventions have been identified to prevent HIV transmission from HIV-infected persons to uninfected persons in serodiscordant relationships. Yet, transmissions continue to occur. Interventions such as voluntary counseling and testing, condom promotion, and risk reduction counseling are very effective in preventing transmission among serodiscordant couples but are underutilized in India despite their widespread availability (Kumar et al., 2011). Interventions such as pre-risk exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and universal antiretroviral therapy (irrespective of CD4 count) have been newly identified but face several challenges that impede their widespread implementation in India (Kumar et al., 2011). Serodiscordant couples in India also face certain unique socio-cultural issues such as marital and fertility pressure (Gupta et al., 2010).

Introduction –HIV, Human immune deficiency virus which started in late mid 90s has already devastated many people causing great economic impact on their families, communities and health care systems. In USA the first HIV patient was diagnosed in 1981 after which disease spreads rapidly by which it affects nearly 1.2 million people as of now. As per US centre for disease control and prevention Out of 1.2 million

The paradigms of social work practice are based on the ideologies of social and agency policies to advocate for change, and to make good decisions about people’s lives. “Social work is, by its nature and professional ethics, is concerned with the well-being of all members of society” (Segal, 2013, p. 2). Social policies are based on the principles of social justice, non-discrimination, improving people’s lives, and advocating for social change for improving individual lives to self-determination and self-efficacy. It is apparent that social change has been “influenced by war, economic crisis, demographic changes, and the international threat that affect public and professional sentiment concerning the systematic changes in developing community

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].

Even though HIV has impacted the developed world, it has specifically targeted our impoverished communities and has decreased life expectancy in these areas to be an average of 20 years old. In addition, this chapter presents critical historical information and statistics to identify the origins of these diseases and the genuine numbers associated with it. This paper will explore HIV and AIDS as a disease. The first chapter will discuss the history associated with HIV and AIDS. The second chapter will explain the process of HIV and AIDS which includes the stages, symptoms and contraction. The third chapter explains the misconceptions and stereotypes of HIV and AIDS. The fourth chapter explores women and children with HIV and AIDS. Finally, the fifth chapter discusses the medical interventions and future at risk

The past several decades the HIV/AIDS epidemic is a protracted disaster in the gay community. Furthermore, by what means each person handles their diagnosis and recovery of HIV/AIDS. Doctors and researchers have known about this deadly virus since the 1980s, still have not been able to find a cure, but have had many close attempts. Humans can practice different methods to protect themselves. According to World Health Organization HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed more than 34 million lives so far. In 2014, 1.2 million people died from HIV-related causes globally. There were approximately 36.9; 41.4 million people living with HIV at the end of 2014 with 2.2 million people becoming newly infected with HIV

Overall, the crisis of HIV/AIDS, especially in sub-Saharan Africa is still a major issue. Perhaps the biggest factor is that developed nations have become fairly complacent when considering the disease, as not only has its prevalence dropped significantly in most areas, but treatment through anti-retroviral regimens has managed to increase an infected person’s lifespan to a level almost matching an uninfected person’s average lifespan. Those in sub-Saharan Africa face several key issues with this disease. A lack of education regarding HIV/AIDS and a lack of health care facilities and medication to combat HIV/AIDS are perhaps two of the largest. The country unfortunately faces an upcoming crisis, with the youngest generation’s parents and caregivers becoming too sick or succumbing to the disease before vital education, such as the ability to farm a landscape suffering from desertification, is passed on (Sowing Seeds of Hunger).

HIV infection has high rates in minorities and poor because it is an ongoing health crisis. HIV infection in minorities has affected communities in the circumstances that they are struggling with many economic and social challenges. The challenges are substance abuse, poverty, homelessness, unequal treatment, unequal access to health care.The overlap of these challenges is HIV infection, this transmission is facilitated by many of the factors. Whereas this epidemic is reasonable that is affecting all ethnic and racial minorities. Women who are as well part of the minority population are as well normally affected. The management and the care of those who are infected with HIV have it complicated because of the health care and the unequal treatment they have once they are enrolled in health care. As well as health insurance , which lack of concordance between the what race the patient is and what provider the patient has.

Another major health policy that India just passed and adopted from the World Health Organization (WHO) is the "Test and Treat Policy for HIV". India has the third largest HIV epidemic in the world and with WHO, India wants to reduce the number people infected with HIV. Currently, 2.1 million are living in HIV in India and 86000 new cases are reported yearly. “The epidemic is concentrated among key affected populations such as sex workers. The vulnerabilities that drive the epidemic are different in different parts of the country.4 the five states with the highest HIV prevalence (Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka) are in the south or east of the country.” ("HIV and AIDS in India", 2017) The new policy allows people to get tested and get the necessary treatment. This policy applies to everyone from all men, women, adolescents and children. This policy will greatly increase the longevity and provide a better quality of life for those ill and hopefully prevent other diseases like Tuberculosis, which