Thursday, November 19, 2009

12th Post WOW!!!

Hello bloggers I went to the men's infected panel last night and it was an awesome experience the men on the panel just opened up to us about their lives and about living with HIV. Listening to them and their stories just made me want to get out and tell the world about HIV and how to protect themselves. I honestly think that everyone every where should be required to take this course. I just kept thinking last night if only there was some way to bring interest to the topic HIV we could make a differnce.

Did You Know...

Every 30 minutes someone from the age 13 to 24 is infected with HIV. Every 9 minutes someone is infected from all ages. Also if you did not already know that African American women are at more risk for infection. It was said last night that HIV is kinda like a poverty virus and this is because of lack of education.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

11th Post. CHANGE HAS COME

In my HIV course I can say that I have grown a lot. I can actually discuss HIV and be able to know what I am talking about. I am going to the men’s panel tonight I heard that the women’s panel was nice so I hope to get a lot of this panel. I think that everyone especially individuals interested in the health care field should definitely take this course. I wish that I could share all of my new information with the world, but no one listens. If everyone took this class I am positive the epidemic would stop or at least decrease drastically.

DYK?

That last month our very own President Barack Obama lifted the ban places against people who have HIV from traveling to the U.S. Because President Obama lifted this ban, individuals with HIV are free to come to the United Stated for treatments, vacations, to adopt children, attend conferences and such without having to go through the hassle at the airports for having AZT in their bags. This is a step toward CHANGE.

I am actually happy that this ban was lifted. I think that it was only in place out of fear. This shows that President Obama is not afraid and that more than likely he too has taken the time to learn a thing or two about HIV and individuals with HIV. I am sure that he knows that keeping people with HIV out of the country is not going to stop the spread. We have enough people here infecting each other so outsiders won't really make a difference. I think everyone should be able to travel where they please but I can understand rules and regulations with residency.

If you are interested in reading more on the topic I found this article entitled HATE CRIMES LAW STRENGTHENED, HIV TRAVEL BAN ENDED; BAD WEEK FOR HATE & FEAR IN WASHINGTON! At the following website:
http://www.onepeoplesproject.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=231:hate-crimes-law-strengthened-hiv-travel-ban-ended-bad-week-for-hate-a-fear-in-washington&catid=41:political-affairs

Monday, November 9, 2009

Post # 10 HIV Discrimination in Russia

Hello Bloggers, another week another blog. Well class is going ok at this point I am still surprised every time I read articles and our modules. I did not know that when you miss any pills or mess up your schedule of taking your medication that the virus can start to become immune to the medication. I thought to myself that if that stands for all viruses or illnesses than I may be immune to a lot of medications because almost every time I am given a prescription I never finish it. Usually once I start feeling better I start forgetting to take the medications. The question of the week was a good one I almost got mad thinking about the government wanting to violate people’s rights that way.

As you know my topic has always been discrimination therefore

DID YOU KNOW?

I read an article entitled Stigmatization of HIV positive persons by Russian health care workers. Basically the article was based on a survey that was taken by over 250 physicians and health care workers from areas all over Russia they were asked how they felt about patients with HIV. The results would surprise you, the article says that one out of two heath care workers thought that HIV test should be given to patients before they are allowed to be admitted into the hospitals. Then patients who test positive for HIV or AIDS should be deferred to receive care in a special hospital specifically for patients who are positive. These same health care workers also believed that babies of positive mothers should be born in HIV specific maternity wards in those same HIV specific hospitals. More that 50% of the healthcare working felt that the patients should have an obligation to tell them that they are positive for HIV or AIDS. The article also said that over 50% of the doctors admitted that they would treat their coworkers differently if they knew that they were positive. They even went as far as to say that they would not want their children going to the same schools as HIV positive children and playing with them.

Basically there is a very high percentage of Russia that is still very negative toward people with HIV. This is causing some series discrimination. I feel sorry for the people who are living with HIV or AIDS in Russia because they are not only treated differently by their community but also in the health care field. I mean these health care workers should have some more compassion after all they have the knowledge so there is no excuse for their behavior.

If you are interested in this article please visit the website at http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102282793.html

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Blog #9 More discrimination

My HIV course is still going full speed ahead. We are doing this project this week were we are taking M&Ms to simulate taking HIV medication, so we are taking M&Ms every so often throughout the day and to be honest I am tired of M&Ms. I use to like them until now. Otherwise I am doing ok in the class I am still learning a lot and the work is finally starting to get a little easier. Only a month or so left :).

Did You Know???

I looked up an article entitled Is there discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS when they seek dental care? This article was written by Charbonneau A, Maheux B, Beland F; International Conference on AIDS. A survey was taken from 224 people in Montreal, Canada all of which had HIV or AIDS. The survey asked very detailed questions in order to produce the most accurate results for the survey. The survey concluded that over 70% of the people that they had looked into getting dental work done after they learned that they were positive. Of those 71% said that they told their dentist that they were positive, then 28% said that once they told their dentist that they were positive they were either refused treatment or deferred. For those who choose not to disclose this information to their dentist they said that they did not tell them because universal precautions are used any way (gloves, gowns, mask, etc…), also because they feared being judged or discriminated against. Some people said that they also did not trust that their dental records would be kept private.

This was another display of discrimination against people with HIV or AIDS. I can understand people being afraid of getting infected but I can also understand why people who are infected choose not to disclose their status. The article is titled Is there discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS when they seek dental care? If you are interesting in this article you can view it on the following website. http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102209467.html