HIV-related stigma and discrimination and human rights violations constitute great barriers to preventing HIV infection; providing care, support and treatment; and alleviating the impacts of the epidemic. This publication documents case studies of successful action in different countries addressing HIV-related human rights violations, stigma and discrimination.
With insightful discussion of program evaluation and the efforts of the Centers for Disease Control, this book presents a set of clear-cut recommendations to help ensure that the substantial resources devoted to the fight against AIDS will be used most effectively. This expanded edition of Evaluating AIDS Prevention Programs covers evaluation strategies and outcome measurements, including a realistic review of the factors that make evaluation of AIDS programs particularly difficult. Randomized field experiments are examined, focusing on the use of alternative treatments rather than placebo controls. The book also reviews nonexperimental techniques, including a critical examination of evaluation methods that are observational rather than experimentalâ€"a necessity when randomized experiments are infeasible.
Increased HIV screening may help identify more people with the disease, but there may not be enough resources to provide them with the care they need. The Institute of Medicine's Committee on HIV Screening and Access to Care concludes that more practitioners must be trained in HIV/AIDS care and treatment and their hospitals, clinics, and health departments must receive sufficient funding to meet a growing demand for care.
The AIDS epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa continues to affect all facets of life throughout the subcontinent. Deaths related to AIDS have driven down the life expectancy rate of residents in Zambia, Kenya, and Uganda with far-reaching implications. This book details the current state of the AIDS epidemic in Africa and what is known about the behaviors that contribute to the transmission of the HIV infection. It lays out what research is needed and what is necessary to design more effective prevention programs.
Europe's "Black Death" contributed to the rise of nation states, mercantile economies, and even the Reformation. Will the AIDS epidemic have similar dramatic effects on the social and political landscape of the twenty-first century? This readable volume looks at the impact of AIDS since its emergence and suggests its effects in the next decade, when a million or more Americans will likely die of the disease. The Social Impact of AIDS in the United States addresses some of the most sensitive and controversial issues in the public debate over AIDS. This landmark book explores how AIDS has affected fundamental policies and practices in our major institutions, examining: How America's major religious organizations have dealt with sometimes conflicting values: the imperative of care for the sick versus traditional views of homosexuality and drug use. Hotly debated public health measures, such as HIV antibody testing and screening, tracing of sexual contacts, and quarantine. The potential risk of HIV infection to and from health care workers. How AIDS activists have brought about major change in the way new drugs are brought to the marketplace. The impact of AIDS on community-based organizations, from volunteers caring for individuals to the highly political ACT-UP organization. Coping with HIV infection in prisons. Two case studies shed light on HIV and the family relationship. One reports on some efforts to gain legal recognition for nonmarital relationships, and the other examines foster care programs for newborns with the HIV virus. A case study of New York City details how selected institutions interact to give what may be a picture of AIDS in the future. This clear and comprehensive presentation will be of interest to anyone concerned about AIDS and its impact on the country: health professionals, sociologists, psychologists, advocates for at-risk populations, and interested individuals.
Despite decades of attention on building a global HIV research and programming agenda, HIV in older populations has generally been neglected until recently. This new book focuses on HIV and aging in the context of ageism with regard to prevention, treatment guidelines, funding, and the engagement of communities and health and social service organizations. The lack of perceived HIV risk in late adulthood among older people themselves, as well on the part of providers and society in general, has led to a lack of investment in education, testing, and programmatic responses. Ageism perpetuates the invisibility of older adults and, in turn, renders current medical and social service systems unprepared to respond to patients’ needs. While ageism may lead to some advantages – discounts for services, for example – it is the negative aspects that must be addressed when determining the appropriate community-level response to the epidemic.
"Despite global progress in understanding the epidemiology of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), knowledge about the epidemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remains limited and subject to much controversy. In the more than 25 years since the discovery of HIV, no scientific study has provided a comprehensive, data-driven synthesis of the spread of HIV/AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) in the region. Consequently, the effectiveness of policies, programs, and resources intended to address the spread of HIV/AIDS has been compromised. This report aims to fill the knowledge gap by providing the first-ever comprehensive scientific assessment and data-driven epidemiological synthesis of HIV's spread in MENA. It is based on a literature review and analysis of thousands of largely unrecognized publications, reports, and data sources extracted from scientific literature or collected from sources at the local, national, and regional levels. The resulting collection of data provides a solid foundation on which efforts to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS can be based. 'Characterizing the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the Middle East and North Africa' will be of particular interest to policy makers, researchers, development practitioners, and specialists in public health and epidemiology."
The author is trained in biology, microbiology, medicine and epidemiology in the US. His book is predicated on two main points: the Aids pandemic is so pervasive in Africa that drastic measures are needed; and that those measures must primarily depend on prevention. He discusses such a comprehensive approach and treatment, and stresses that the primary need is political will. The first four chapters deal with the general principles of history and epidemiology; and then focus on the effect of the epidemic in Africa and how to deal with it. Whilst a wealth of technical information is given, the language is accessible for the lay reader.
Today, around the world, there are 5 million young men and women living with HIV. Opportunity in Crisis: Preventing HIV from early adolescence to young adulthood examines the state of the HIV epidemic among young people, highlighting the challenges they face and presenting solutions informed by evidence of what works with different age groups and in different epidemic settings. The report outlines key steps towards building a continuum of HIV prevention that can help keep children HIV-free as they develop into young adults.
