Communicable Disease Epidemiology Has Been Research Proposal

Using condoms is also an excellent prevention activity that can also be used (Primary and Secondary HIV Prevention, 2008).

Potential obstacles to HIV prevention activities taking place in clinical settings often include:

narrow formations of medical care and the role of physicians or health care providers in HIV prevention, a provider's discomfort with discussing human sexuality and illicit drug use and their attitudes towards persons with HIV or AIDS along with constraints on time and resources, and the vagueness of HIV prevention messages (Primary and Secondary HIV Prevention, 2008).

The very nature of HIV transmission involves behaviors that are not readily discussed in American society. It is important for health care providers to become comfortable discussing sexual and substance-use activities with their patients. They need to create an environment of trust for patients so their risk behaviors can be discussed. It is important to assure the patient of the confidential nature of such discussions, as concerns about confidentially and documentation of such information may prevent some patients from disclosing important information about their risk and behavior (Primary and Secondary HIV Prevention, 2008).

AIDS has become one of the make or break epidemics of this century. It is measured by its actual impact and potential threat to the survival and well-being of people around the world. It is difficult to determine if there are any other global problems that are in the same league as AIDS. AIDS is likely to persist as a worldwide epidemic for several generations unless a response equal to the problem is put in place and sustained (Shiffman, 2009).

The response to this problem, short of finding a cure, is that of education and wide spread prevention efforts. The number of people who do not know anything about this disease and how it is spread along with those who have HIV and are not aware of it are astounding. Getting information into those peoples hands is a very important key in stopping the spread of AIDS. In this case ignorance is not bliss but is in fact deadly. The less that people know the more harm they can do without evening knowing it. Because of this overall lack of knowledge this disease is being spread at a very large rate and the effects are devastating. Education and prevention programs must be established and put into place so that until a cure is discovered this disease can at the very least be slowed down. Prevention must be done for the overall health and safety of the entire population as we know it.

References

ABCs of Aids Prevention - Presentation Transcript. (2009). Retrieved September 3, 2009, from Slideshare Web site: http://www.slideshare.net/drsujnanendra/ab-cs-of-aids-prevention

CDC Responds to HIV / AIDS. (2009). Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/aboutDHAP.htm

HIV / AIDS. (2009). Retrieved September 4, 2009, from MayClinic Web site:

http://www.bing.com/health/article.aspx?id=articles%2fmayo%2f4821A3514D5E3DA2C4B81F7A31C54725.html&br=lv&q=aids

Osmond, Dennis. (2003). Epidemiology of HIV / AIDS in the United States. Retrieved September

4, 2009, from UCSF Web site: http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite?page=kb-01-03

Primary and Secondary HIV Prevention. (2008). Retrieved from United States Department of Veterans Affairs Web site: http://www.hiv.va.gov/vahiv?page=prtop08-ov-01

Shiffman, Jeremy. (2009). A social explanation for the rise and fall of global health issues.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization; 87(8), 608-613.

Understanding the Epidemiologic Triangle through Infectious Disease. (n.d). Retrieved

September 3, 2009, from Web site:

http://www.bam.gov/teachers/activities/epi_1_triangle.pdf

Welcome to the Department of Epidemiology. (2009). Retrieved September 3, 2009, from UCLA

School of Public Health Web site: http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/index.html