The Hidden Epidemic
The Hidden Epidemic

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1997-03-28

Total Pages: 446

ISBN-13: 030917547X

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The United States has the dubious distinction of leading the industrialized world in overall rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), with 12 million new cases annually. About 3 million teenagers contract an STD each year, and many will have long-term health problems as a result. Women and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to these diseases and their health consequences. In addition, STDs increase the risk of HIV transmission. The Hidden Epidemic examines the scope of sexually transmitted infections in the United States and provides a critical assessment of the nation's response to this public health crisis. The book identifies the components of an effective national STD prevention and control strategy and provides direction for an appropriate response to the epidemic. Recommendations for improving public awareness and education, reaching women and adolescents, integrating public health programs, training health care professionals, modifying messages from the mass media, and supporting future research are included. The book documents the epidemiological dimensions and the economic and social costs of STDs, describing them as "a secret epidemic" with tremendous consequences. The committee frankly discusses the confusing and often hypocritical nature of how Americans deal with issues regarding sexualityâ€"the conflicting messages conveyed in the mass media, the reluctance to promote condom use, the controversy over sex education for teenagers, and the issue of personal blame. The Hidden Epidemic identifies key elements of effective, culturally appropriate programs to promote healthy behavior by adolescents and adults. It examines the problem of fragmentation in STD services and provides examples of communities that have formed partnerships between stakeholders to develop integrated approaches. The committee's recommendations provide a practical foundation on which to build an integrated national program to help young people and adults develop habits of healthy sexuality. The Hidden Epidemic was written for both health care professionals and people without a medical background and will be indispensable to anyone concerned about preventing and controlling STDs.

AIDS and Adolescents
AIDS and Adolescents

Author: Lorraine Sherr

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9789057020384

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This text provides insight into a wide range of adolescent issues. A series of contributions examines facts and fictions associated with adolescent risk, challenging some of the basic current notions underpinning approaches to the subject.

AIDS and Behavior
AIDS and Behavior

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1994-02-01

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 0309050936

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HIV is spreading rapidly, and effective treatments continue to elude science. Preventive interventions are now our best defense against the epidemicâ€"but they require a clear understanding of the behavioral and mental health aspects of HIV infection and AIDS. AIDS and Behavior provides an update of what investigators in the biobehavioral, psychological, and social sciences have discovered recently about those aspects of the disease and offers specific recommendations for research directions and priorities. This volume candidly discusses the sexual and drug-use behaviors that promote transmission of HIV and reports on the latest efforts to monitor the epidemic in its social contexts. The committee reviews new findings on how and why risky behaviors occur and efforts to develop strategies for changing such behaviors. The volume presents findings on the disease's progression and on the psychosocial impacts of HIV and AIDS, with a view toward intervention and improved caregiving. AIDS and Behavior also evaluates the status of behavioral and prevention aspects of AIDS research at the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The volume presents background on the three institutes; their recent reorganization; their research budgets, programs, and priorities; and other important details. The committee offers specific recommendations for the institutes concerning the balance between biomedical and behavioral investigations, adequacy of administrative structures, and other research management issues. Anyone interested in the continuing quest for new knowledge on preventing HIV and AIDS will want to own this book: policymakers, researchers, research administrators, public health professionals, psychologists, AIDS advocates and service providers, faculty, and students.

Communities in Action
Communities in Action

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2017-04-27

Total Pages: 583

ISBN-13: 0309452961

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In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

HIV Screening and Access to Care
HIV Screening and Access to Care

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2011-04-21

Total Pages: 114

ISBN-13: 0309212928

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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.

HIV Screening and Access to Care
HIV Screening and Access to Care

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2010-12-22

Total Pages: 97

ISBN-13: 0309186498

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More than 200,000 people in the United States living with HIV/AIDS do not know they are infected. The Institute of Medicine's Committee on HIV Screening and Access to Care held a workshop and reviewed literature to explore barriers and facilitators to more widespread HIV testing. This book contains the committee's conclusions.

Coping with Chronic Illness and Disability
Coping with Chronic Illness and Disability

Author: Erin Martz

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-09-23

Total Pages: 437

ISBN-13: 0387486704

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This book synthesizes the expanding literature on coping styles and strategies by analyzing how individuals with CID face challenges, find and use their strengths, and alter their environment to fit their life-changing realities. The book includes up-to-date information on coping with high-profile conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, spinal cord injuries, and traumatic brain injury, in-depth coverage of HIV/AIDS, chronic pain, and severe mental illness, and more.