...Evaluation of Interventions to Decrease the HIV/STI Risk Behaviors of African American Youth: Can We Control Future Trends? Beatrice Simiyu Capstone Project Dr. Bruce Johnson Abstract As a result of the need to recognize successful human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections (STI) interventions tailored for African American youth, a literature review of six HIV/STI randomized controlled trials interventions targeting African American youth conducted in the United States were evaluated. A comparative analysis was used; the settings, procedures and outcomes of the different interventions targeting African American youth were compared, contrasted and combined to ultimately identify trends that are likely to initiate and possibly sustain change in HIV/STI risk behaviors among African American youth who are a vulnerable group. Variables were evaluated by the various intervention impacts on reducing sexual risk behaviors by an indication of a delay in first sexual intercourse, a decline in the number of sex partners and frequency of sex, and increase in condom use and a reduction in positive STI outcomes. Outcomes were used to facilitate identification of public health strategies that might be most beneficial in targeting African American youth and pinpoint what manner current public health strategies neglects to focus on their needs. The research and practice implications of the findings imply that enhancing future HIV/STI targeting African American...
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...Applying Social Network Interventions in Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Systematic Review Communication 623 Final Paper Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Health Psychology Seminar at Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania by Qijia Chen May 2014 Instructor: Professor John B. Jemmott, Annenberg School for Communication Abstract The current paper provides a comprehensive review of the literature on social network intervention in HIV prevention among MSM. I performed a systematic literature research in multi-lingual databases and located a relatively exhaustive collection of articles on social network interventions in MSM. There is strong evidence that such interventions are efficacious in generating changes in behavioral and psychological constructs that might lead to risk reduction in HIV infection and transmission. This paper identified several urgent issues in the current state of research development, particularly, a lack of theoretical development, an insufficient numbers of methodologically rigorous studies, and an absence of clear conceptual distinctions and implementary recommendations. The review also proposes potential solutions and suggestions for future research. Introduction Men who have sex with men (MSM) comprise the largest proportion of new HIV infections in the USA (CDC, 2011). Efforts to curtail the incidence of HIV infection require that at-risk individuals adopt effective behavioral changes. Previous...
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...HIV/AIDS social and behavioural research: past advances and thoughts about the future Authors: J P Moatti, Y Souteyrand Journal: Social Science [?] Medicine This paper is an introduction to the various contributions in this special issue of Social Science & Medicine which are an attempt to synthesise the main debates of the 2nd European Conference on Social and Behavioural Research on AIDS held in Paris, in January 1998. The paper discusses how the recent advent of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) and new trends in the epidemic (its concentration in the socially most vulnerable groups and countries) have affected the research agenda of European social and behavioural sciences (SBS) in HIV/AIDS. Questions which had already been thoroughly studied by SBS (like determinants of HIV-related risk behaviours, or impact of gender and socio-economic inequities as well as discrimination on the diffusion of HIV) will have to be "revisited" in light of these recent changes. New issues (such as risk behaviours among already infected patients. impact of therapeutic advances on psychosocial and daily life management of their disease by people living with HIV/AIDS, adherence to treatment, or "normalisation" of AIDS public policies) will have to be strongly and quickly dealt with, in order for SSB to keep the pace with the rapid evolution of the epidemic and of the societal responses to it. Finally, the paper argues that to face these challenges, new theoretical and methodological...
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...Behavioral Economics Matters for HIV Research: The Impact of Behavioral Biases on Adherence to Antiretrovirals (ARVs) Abstract Behavioral economics (BE) has been used to study a number of health behaviors such as smoking and drug use, but there is little knowledge of how these insights relate to HIV prevention and care. We present novel evidence on the prevalence of the common behavioral decision-making errors of present-bias, overoptimism, and information salience among 155 Ugandan HIV patients, and analyze their association with subsequent medication adherence. 36 % of study participants are classified as present-biased, 21 % as overoptimistic, and 34 % as having salient HIV information. Patients displaying present-bias were 13 % points (p = 0.006) less likely to have adherence rates above 90 %, overoptimistic clients were 9 % points (p = 0.04) less likely, and those not having salient HIV information were 17 % points (p\0.001) less likely. These findings indicate that BE may be used to screen for future adherence problems and to better design and target interventions addressing these behavioral biases and the associated suboptimal adherence The Importance of BE Biases for Chronic Health Behaviors We focus on three key behavioral biases that have been found to influence health behaviors for other chronic conditions [9] and that we hypothesize may also be important to components of ARV adherence: Present-Bias A key behavioral bias is present-bias, which is the tendency...
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...of Healthcare for AIDS/HIV Patients | Lana Iris English 12312/15/14 | Disparity of Healthcare with Patients with AIDS/HIV For the last thirty years AIDS/HIV has been a controversial topic, but more recently, the disease itself has not been controversial but the disparity in receiving proper care both in prevention modalities and active treatment for the disease. While the Obama administration has taken steps toward the elimination of these disparities through the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and Implementation Plan, there is still much work to be done. This brief highlights underexplored explanations for these disparities and outlines possible solutions to begin addressing them. Oftentimes, popular culture has offered unfortunately erroneous explanations for the stark racial disparate impact of HIV/ AIDS. The mass media, for example, has suggested that black men “on the down low” infect black women by secretly sleeping with male partners, acting as a bisexual “bridge” between gay and straight communities. But public health scholars have found little support for this theory. Many may assume that black people suffer from greater HIV prevalence because they are considered less sexually responsible than whites. Yet several studies have shown that black women and black men who have sex with men—the two groups most severely impacted by HIV/AIDS—have similar numbers of sexual partners and use condoms as often as their white counterparts. Thus, behavioral risk factors, while important...
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...RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENT DRUG ABUSE NIH GUIDE, Volume 25, Number 37, November 1, 1996 PA NUMBER: PA-97-005 P.T. 34, AA Keywords: Drugs/Drug Abuse National Institute on Drug Abuse PURPOSE The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is firmly committed to support of research in the area of adolescent drug abuse. The purpose of this program announcement (PA) is to encourage further investigations in this area, particularly with regard to gaps in current knowledge. HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000 The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000," a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas. This PA, Research on Adolescent Drug Abuse, is related to the priority area of alcohol and other drugs. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2000" (Full Report: Stock No. 017-001-00474-0 or Summary Report: Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325 (telephone 202-512-1800). ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Applications...
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...High-Risk Family Assessment and Health Promotion Paper For High risk family assessment: Intravenous Drug users (IDUs) family is chosen Common health issues /profile among members or families from this high-risk group: Drug abuse involves the regular taking of a deleterious or noxious quantity of any drug, prescribed or illicit over a period of time (Freidman, 2003). Those people who become severely drug dependent most often need specialized treatment in order to recover. A wide range of treatment is available through private sector and public sector. Recovery treatment centers usually incorporate the family into treatment plan, which makes it more effective in their treatment of the substance abuser. > HIV positive IDU and family members > IDU has a wide range of coinfections, coinfections, comorbidities and injecting related health issues. The common health problems in this IDU family are: • Infection with blood borne viruses, including hepatitis B, C and D (delta) leading to liver diseases • Bacterial infections: tuberculosis, bacterial pneumonia, • Alcohol dependence and alcohol-related liver disease • Poly substance dependence • Psychiatric comorbidity, including depression. • Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) • Local soft tissue and vascular injuries, including skin abscesses and thrombophlebitis • Smoking-related illnesses and chronic diseases. • Mental health problems There are some mental conditions that may...
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...Wheldon et al. (2016) conducted a study among 575 young MSM to quantify their behavioral intentions to initiate human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and to test an integrative model of HPV vaccine decision making. The integrative behavioral model (IBM) was used to inform this study. The IBM posits that a set of population-specific salient beliefs underlies the formation of attitudes toward HPV vaccination, perceived norms in favor or against vaccination, and perceived control over one’s ability to get vaccinated if desired. The effects of attitudes, norms, and perceived control on HPV vaccination are mediated by the individual’s behavioral intention (Ajzen, 1991). The IBM model, as applied to this particular issue, specifies that beliefs...
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...HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is an infectious disease. This means that it can move from person to person via various methods, including sexual intercourse. HIV is a retrovirus; this means that it reverse copies its own structure into that of the host’s white blood cells and reproduces inside, meaning HIV doesn’t have any visible symptoms for many years, allowing it to be passed from person to person unnoticed. AIDS is the next level of HIV. This is determined when an individual’s white blood cell count drops below 200, deeming it to be AIDS and no longer HIV. At risk groups in South Africa Everyone in Africa is at risk of getting HIV/AIDS. However, there are some vulnerable groups that have a higher chance than others. These groups include: men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers, children, prisoners and women as a result of gang rape or in a sexual relationship. Although worldwide the majority of HIV infections are transmitted through sex between men and women, there are still curtain groups such as the ones above that have also been extremely badly affected. HIV particularly affects adolescents and young people which accounted for 39% of all new infections and 15% of people living with HIV in 2012. This poses a larger risk for these groups in Africa because of the age range and the stigma and discrimination of people who have HIV. Prevention Strategies adopted in South Africa against HIV/AIDS The strategy of preventing HIV/AIDS in South...
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...Epidemiology HIV is an acronym that stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The HIV virus attacks a carrier’s immune system making a simple cold detrimental to their health. It is spread though contact with an infected individual’s blood, semen, or vaginal fluid. The two most common ways that people contract HIV is though unprotected sex with a partner who knowingly or unknowingly has HIV, or through sharing needles with regards to drug use. The HIV virus works by attacking cells called CD4+ cells. These cells make up a large part of one’s immune system. When a certain number of CD4+ cells are destroyed, the human body is no longer able to fight off infections, regardless of how common. When the CD4+ cell amount becomes so little in quantity, the patient’s diagnosis usually changes from HIV to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). The amount of time it can take for those infected to progress to AIDS can take up to 12 years (aids.gov, 2014). With ObamaCare, the primary goals regarding HIV is aimed at: 1) reducing the number of people who become infected with HIV, 2) increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes for people living with HIV, and 3) reducing HIV-related health disparities (aids.gov, 2014). By providing preventative care such as condoms, education on monogamy, free clinics for STD (sexually transmitted diseases) screening, the population will be at a lesser risk of contracting HIV. In 1995, 44 percent of the general public indicated that HIV/AIDS was...
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...I have nearly five years experience in the educational sector where I was employed as a Behavioral Assistant and Learning Coach. As a Behavioral Assistant with the Bethel School District, I supported children and adolescents enrolled in Special Education programs. I provided individual and small group support to students with exceptional behavioral needs as determined by a licensed specialist. The primary purpose of my position was to employ specific protocol in individualized behavior intervention plans, provide active supervision to student with such plans and maintain student progress data. Additional illustrations of responsibilities related to my post include instructing students in social skills, assisting students in understanding...
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...Learning from Mass Media Campaigns for HIV/AIDS Prevention Reviews of mass media campaigns have a special interest for me. They demonstrate what can be done, and as importantly, what cannot be done, by relying on a 1P approach. I have talked about the 5% Solution before, and noted another review of mass media campaigns for changing health behaviors. This post focuses on the findings from a review of recent campaigns to prevent HIV/AIDS. What is interesting in this report are the comparisons it draws to reviews of earlier campaigns in this area as well as the current state of the art and science. The authors used seven principles to guide their analysis: (1) conducting formative research on and about the target audience; (2) using theory as a conceptual foundation; (3) segmenting one’s audience into meaningful subgroups; (4) using a message design approach that is targeted to the audience segment(s); (5) utilizing effective channels widely viewed by and persuasive with the target audience; (6) conducting process evaluation and ensuring high message exposure; and (7) using a sensitive outcome evaluation design that reduces threats to internal validity and allows causal inferences about campaign impact to be made. The question they explore is: to what extent have recent HIV/AIDS campaigns in the literature adhered to these principles? Noar et al (2009) began with a search of peer-reviewed articles appearing from late 1998 through October 2007. Mass media had to be a central or...
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...framework for understanding human behaviour, based on a cognitive formulation which he named the Social Cognitive Theory. That framework is currently the dominant version used in health behaviour and health promotion; however, it is still often referred to as Social Learning Theory. The impetus for this special issue on HIV came from a discussion a few years ago during which we established a shared interest in a revival of the sort of scholarly innovation that characterized the early years of the HIV epidemic. As far back as the early 1980s, social theorists, cultural, critics, artists and others created a vibrant body of work on HIV/AIDS. Working from various theoretical and disciplinary sites they steadfastly emphasized the ‘social’ for understanding the significance of AIDS and opened up new avenues for critiquing and re-imagining scientific, cultural and social responses to infectious disease. At its best, this work served also as an impetus for queer theory, various feminist critiques and a range of research under the rubric of science, medicine and technology studies. The contributions made by this early work and its effects on public discourse on HIV/AIDS were multiple. Among the more groundbreaking contributions worth underscoring here were analyses that destabilized the neutrality of scientific knowledge and practice, emphasizing the malleability and culture-bound nature of its disease definitions (Martin, 1994) as well as...
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... The Role of Families in Preventing and Adapting to HIV/AIDS Issues and Answers Willo Pequegnat National Institute of Mental Health José Szapocznik University of Miami A lthough the role of families in caring for its sick members is as old as hu mankind, only and health professionals,in recent years have researchers, family practitioners recognized the important role of the family in disease pre vention and health promotion (Anderson & Bury, 1988 ; Cohen & Wills, 1985; Kazak, 1989) . With enhanced treatments, HIV infection is now becoming a long-term chronic illness affecting hundreds of thousands of families . As a seri ous chronic illness, HIV infection is creating pressure o n health care and social and mental health service providers to design comprehensive systems for fami lies . For each of the more than 688,200 persons in the United States with AIDS, there are parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and friends and partners in the fam ily constellation who are affected (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 1998b) . The family is de facto and often de jure caretakers when one of its members is ill or in trouble (Pequegnat & Bray, 1997). AUTHORS' NOTE: The second author was partially supported in writing this chapter by NIMH Grant R37 MH55796 . Requests for further information on this chapter should be sent to Dr. Willo Pequegnat, Associate Director, Primary Prevention, Translational, and International Research, Center for Mental Health...
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...between these systems” Bronfenbrenner, (1979). The client has suffered numerous disparities and wants to transition out of the marriage with therapy assistance because he says his wife cannot be trusted. Also, she cheated with the neighbor he wants out of the dysfunctional relationship; the couple have very distant relationship. The intervention theory consists of focus theory a quick divorce as the client desires. Example, “He says he believes that he can survive without...
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