Week 8

Everytime I learn something new in this class, I always pass the information on to my sister, not sure why but I do. She is always shocked with the information I tell her. So we were in the car together drivign somewhere, work probably and I asked her if she wanted to go to the men's panal with me in November, to my surprise she said yes, I was estatic. One the drive to Orlando is about 2 hours for me, its nice to have some company. Two it would be nice to have someone to discuss what was said that night to someone in person rather on the phone. Then she told me that because of everything I have told her, it scares her, that she is constantly thinking about it and that in the future she is not going to careless.

I just can't help but think, all I told my sister was the hard core facts about HIV/AIDS and it literally scares her I know she has learned from me and I know she will pass that informatoin on to her boyfriend who will one day mention it to someone.... I just possibly saved 2 lives, that is kinda cool. I may be way over thinking it but all one has to do is talk and the other will listen.

DID YOU KNOW...

How can transmission of HIV from mother to baby be prevented?
Any baby born to a mother with HIV risks becoming infected during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. The chance of this happening can be massively reduced by giving HIV infected mothers and their babies anti-HIV drugs and, where appropriate, by feeding the baby using formula rather than breast milk.
These interventions are known as the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission or “PMTCT”. No mother wants to pass HIV to her child, but without PMTCT interventions, around one in three babies born to women with HIV will become infected with HIV themselves.
How many women are receiving PMTCT to protect their babies?
In developed countries, almost all HIV infected women will receive good PMTCT care. With the best treatment and formula feeding, the chance of HIV being transmitted to the baby is less than two percent.
In developing countries it is very different. While a few developing countries have launched effective responses, on average 33% of women receive drugs to prevent their babies being born with HIV. As a result, around 370,000 children are infected with HIV every year.

Why are so many pregnant women not receiving the help they need?
Most often it is because PMTCT services are unavailable or inefficient, or because women are unable to access them. Stigma and fear may also play a role by making a woman unwilling to take an HIV test, or unwilling to take PMTCT drugs.
These problems, though challenging, can be overcome. Some developing countries, such as Botswana and Brazil, are already providing PMTCT services to most of their pregnant women.

Avert.Stops Aids in Children Join the Campaign. Retrived October 27, 2009. From http://www.avert.org/stop-aids-children.php

Oprah has done it again...

Once again Oprah has done it right this time. On today's show the topic was "Sex as a deadly women: 5 victims speak out" was about a man who slept with all of these women and was HIV positive and he knew it. Some of these relationships were years long, others only months. These women were all over the age of 40, mostly fresh out of a previous marriage. Felipe(infected male) can be traced back to having HIV to 1997 with countless women between now and then. Felipe was served a ceased and deceased order saying that he needs to stop having sex, or unprotected sex and that he needs to disclose his status. He was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Felipe is now serving 45 years in prison.

As I watched this show, the only words that came out of my mouth was oh my gosh. The thing that surprises me the most is how he could have been diagnosed 10+ years ago, and he doesn't show any signs of being HIV. Surely I would understand this more if he were taking his medications, but he wasn't.

DID YOU KNOW....

"Children are adversely affected by the impact that HIV and AIDS has on a country’s essential services. One of the most important services that children need is healthcare. In areas heavily affected by AIDS, hospitals are often overwhelmed by the large number of patients that they have to look after. In many cases these hospitals have lost staff to AIDS, making it even more difficult for them to cope. Providing adequate care for sick children is made all the more difficult with a health system heavily burdened by the HIV epidemic"(Berry, 2009).

Berry, S(July 28, 2009). HIV/AIDS and children. In Avert. Retrieved October 20,2009 fromhttp://www.avert.org/children.htm

Well my results came back the other day and I don't know about anyone eles experience with the testing but mine was HORRIBLE. I went to a health clinic in a near by town. Not only did I have to wait 2 hours because they forgot to call me, but I was treated poorly. I was not planning on telling the nurses that I was here for a school project, but I accidentally slipped in mid conversation and when that happened everything changed. My nurse's tone and sympathy for changed completely she became very short with me as if me being there was a waste of time. I received no pre-counseling. So, 2 weeks later I go in a get my results, they didn't forget me this time, a different nurse called me back and as I was walking behind her I see the nurse that I had seen the first time leaning up against the wall next to the door that I was walking into. So I followed my new nurse in had a seat and then my original nurse came in behind me, so the three of us are sitting in the room, my heart started pounding I was thinking this can't be good. Of course, the room was silent they were going through the papers, she finally asked me for my numbers so she could compare to make sure it was me. She said that I was negative, finally my heart slowed down. At this point, she asked if I had any questions. If I didn't they were going to let me walk right out without any post-counseling. I asked her what she would be telling me right now if I wasn't here for a school project they only thing she could tell me was to have safe sex, and that I could come back in 3-6 months to be retested. She acted like she no idea what she was talking about. The whole situation was horrible and I hope they only treated me the way they did because they knew this was a school project.

DID YOU KNOW...
"There are two main things that can be done to help families cope with the burden of HIV. The first is to provide treatment to family-members who are infected. Although antiretroviral drugs are still not widely available in many resource-poor areas, a child’s family-members may be able to reach a clinic or hospital that can provide these drugs. Treatment access is slowly improving in resource-poor countries, but much more money and effort will be needed if the situation is to improve. In sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, only around 44% of people in need of treatment are receiving it.
The second thing that can be done is to provide family members who are not infected with HIV with knowledge and resources – such as condoms – that can help them to stay uninfected. HIV prevention campaigns, whether run by the government, local groups, or international organisations, can help to bring these things to families and their communities".

Berry, S(July 28, 2009). HIV/AIDS and children. In Avert. Retrieved October 14,2009 fromhttp://www.avert.org/children.htm

EXTRA...
Canada confidentiality laws

Code of ethics of the Canadian Medical Association requires all physicians to:

"Respect the patient’s right to confidentiality
except when this right conflicts with your
responsibility to the law, or when the maintenance
of confidentiality would result in a significant
risk of substantial harm to others or to the
patient if the patient is incompetent; in such
cases, take all reasonable steps to inform the
patient that confidentiality will be breached" (Canadian HIV/AIDS, 2009).

The "public safety exception" to confidentiality:

"A health-care professional’s duty of confidentiality to apatient is not absolute. In Smith v Jones (1999), theSupreme Court of Canada found that a physician’s duty
of confidentiality is subject to a “public safety exception.”
A physician (or counsellor or other health-careprofessional) may breach a duty of confidentiality
owed to a client or patient where:
1. there exists a clear risk to an identifiable person orgroup of persons;
2. the risk is that serious bodily harm or death mayoccur;
3. the danger is imminent; and
4. the proposed disclosure will minimally impair the
privacy right of the patient" (Canadian HIV/AIDS, 2009).

This website is very informative check it out http://www.aidslaw.ca/publications/interfaces/downloadFile.php?ref=187

undefined. (2004). Canadian HIV/AIDS legal network. In Privacy protection and the disclosure of the health information: legal issues for people living with HIV/AIDS in Canada.. Retrieved October 14, 2009, from

http://www.aidslaw.ca/publications/interfaces/downloadFile.php?ref=187

Week #5

WOW! After doing the research on the on the diagnosis's it just makes me think how does a person infected with HIV even leave the house? Eating undercooked meat,being in an area with there is a bird feces, around someone that has a cold can really make the HIV infected person really sick as to a healthy person we would get away without even a cough or sniffle. If I were infected I think I would just stay in my house 24/7 for my own safety. I just wonder how does an infected person live life to fullest with so many boundaries in life? When I was watching Age of AIDS a gentleman had said "taking my medication is my job, yes I have a full time job that pays, but my real job is to take my medicines" to me that is crazy, but it is something that has to be done in order live. I supposed I will get a real sense of what it is like to take the medications during our module later this semester, but just by the gentlemen in the movie saying that blows my mind, that means your whole life has to be scheduled around taking medication.

Did you know....

The Effects on HIV on Children's Families

"With an estimated 33 million adults living with HIV around the world, large numbers of children have family members that are living with HIV, or who have died from AIDS. These children may themselves experience the discrimination that is often associated with HIV. They may also have to care for a sick parent or relative, and may have to give up school to become the principle wage-earner for the family. When adults fall sick, food still needs to be provided ­– and the burden of earning money usually falls on the oldest child.
One of the harshest effects of the global AIDS epidemic is the number of orphans it has created, and continues to create. By the end of 2007, it is estimated that more than 15 million children had lost one or both of their parents as a result of AIDS, a significant increase on the estimated 8 million in 2001.22 Some AIDS orphans are adopted by grandparents or other extended family-members, but many are left without any support. Child-headed households as a result of AIDS are common in some areas, with older children fending for their siblings and themselves. See our AIDS orphans page to learn more.
Often, children in HIV-affected households will be cared for by the extended family. It is estimated that grandparents are the sole carers for half of all AIDS orphans, and that the number assuming this role will double by 2015 if present trends continue. Caring for grandchildren can put added strains on time and money in order to provide food and medical care, and older people may have to carry out physically demanding jobs and domestic tasks.23 Orphaned siblings may also be split up so as not to overburden one family member. This could be another upsetting experience for children especially if they have to live far from where they grew up, and away from their familiar support networks."

Berry, S(July 28, 2009). HIV/AIDS and children. In Avert. Retrieved October 4,2009 fromhttp://www.avert.org/children.htm