This updated publication, including an addendum, addresses various issues around HIV/Aids, discussed in the context of the workplace. In line with the unit standard requirements, the material includes a variety of formative assessment activities, using individual, pair and group work assignments, actual case studies, fact boxes, other useful and up-to date information and glossary terms.
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.
Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.
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.
This textbook is intended for use in introductory biostatistics courses for health science, nursing, and biology students. It deals with research designs used for collecting data, methods for summarizing data, and testing hypotheses in health and related fields. The emphasis is on illustrating how statistics are generated and used by practitioners in health fields and interpreting crucial aspects of journal articles. Concepts are stressed rather than the usual computational methods. Every major concept is accompanied by an exercise and correct answers, and these form an integral part of the text.
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.
AIDS on the Agenda is written for policymakers, managers, and program staff in development and humanitarian agencies, to promote debate about the challenges that confront them in a world which has been changed for ever by the pandemic of AIDS. The book considers three possible responses to the problem: * Do nothing. * Try to specialize in direct AIDS work. * Adapt core programs and internal systems to respond to the impact of AIDS. The author argues for the third approach as the essential initial response. She shows how mainstream work in a wide range of sectors e" including food security, livelihoods support, education, health promotion, and emergency provision of water and sanitation e" can be modified to reduce susceptibility to HIV infection and vulnerability to the impacts of AIDS. She also offers practical advice on modifying personnel and financial systems to protect the interests of staff and the viability of organizations when operating in AIDS-prone contexts. The text is based on case studies drawn from the experiences of three agencies (ActionAid, Oxfam International, and Save the Children UK) and their partners; and on insights contributed by a wide range of other organizations. The problems inherent in the e~mainstreaminge(tm) approach are dealt with frankly and constructively. The comprehensive Resources section offers user-friendly guidance on the following topics: * Researching and predicting the internal impacts of AIDS * Assessing the impacts of AIDS education and awareness-raising * Drafting a workplace policy * Monitoring the impact of AIDS and of internal mainstreaming * Training for mainstreaming AIDS in development and humanitarian work * Undertaking community research for mainstreaming AIDS in development and humanitarian work * Adapting organizational systems
