There are currently about 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States, with 16% unaware of their infection. New HIV infections disproportionately affect young people, African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and those living in poverty. Access to healthcare and treatment outcomes are influenced by socioeconomic status and geography. While there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, treatments can manage symptoms and increase life expectancy. Education plays a vital role in prevention by teaching people, especially youth, how to avoid infection.
There are currently about 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States, with 16% unaware of their infection. New HIV infections disproportionately affect young people, African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and those living in poverty. Access to healthcare and treatment outcomes are influenced by socioeconomic status and geography. While there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, treatments can manage symptoms and increase life expectancy. Education plays a vital role in prevention by teaching people, especially youth, how to avoid infection.
There are currently about 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States, with 16% unaware of their infection. New HIV infections disproportionately affect young people, African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and those living in poverty. Access to healthcare and treatment outcomes are influenced by socioeconomic status and geography. While there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, treatments can manage symptoms and increase life expectancy. Education plays a vital role in prevention by teaching people, especially youth, how to avoid infection.
There are currently about 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States, with 16% unaware of their infection. New HIV infections disproportionately affect young people, African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and those living in poverty. Access to healthcare and treatment outcomes are influenced by socioeconomic status and geography. While there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, treatments can manage symptoms and increase life expectancy. Education plays a vital role in prevention by teaching people, especially youth, how to avoid infection.
Question: Since theres more knowledge and research about how you get AIDS/HIV are fewer people contracting it?
Hypothesis: We believe that people being more educated on HIV and AIDS makes them aware and cautious about whom they come in contact with in sexual relationships and everyday encounters. Also, making an effort to stay healthy and live a beneficial lifestyle will help prevent sickness and people will become more immune to getting HIV, which leads to AIDS. Currently, there are about 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States, with 16 percent of people who are unaware of their infection. Since the beginning of the HIV and AIDS epidemic, about 600,000 people have died of AIDS-related illnesses in the United States. Even though the United States may be the greatest nation funder of the global HIV epidemic, its still facing a major continuing HIV epidemic itself, with about 50,000 new infections every year. Shame and discrimination remain to obstruct peoples access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment services, and powering the cycle of new infections. The United States lacked a far-reaching plan on HIV until President Obama created a Nation HIV/AIDS strategy in 2013. Its structured around three goals: decreasing new HIV infections, increasing access to improve health results for people with living HIV, and reducing HIV-related differences and health inequalities.
HIV & AIDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
A study in 2010 found that wealth also determines vulnerability.
HIV occurrence was four times higher among heterosexual people in poor city neighborhoods than the country average. In these highpoverty areas, HIV popularity didn't change depending on race or ethnicity. Instead, higher HIV risk was credited to high HIV prevalence, partial access to health care and other services, and high rates of substance abuse and incarceration. 13- 24 year-olds accounted for 21 percent of the new HIV infections in 2011. Infections among young people follow the same trend as other groups. Of all infections amongst young people in 2010, 57 percent were among young African Americans, 20 percent among Hispanics/Latinos, 20 percent among whites, and 78 percent were among people who are 20-24 years old. About 60 percent of young people living with HIV are not aware that they are infected. This has huge consequences concerning the future transmission to others, via unprotected sex or sharing needles for drug use. Sexually transmitted infections are also popular among this age group, which makes individuals more exposed to HIV infection. AIDS among young individuals has increased by 29 percent since 2008. Young people have thoughts and attitudes that its impossible for them to be infected, so that is why less of them are getting tested for HIV. It has become increasingly obvious that the quality of HIV prevention and treatment services an individual receives is influenced as much by where they live, and by their socio-economic group. A study observing information from across the country also found that, for socioeconomic reasons, non-white men and non-white women living in the South experience the poorest clinical outcomes after being diagnosed with HIV. AIDS-related mortality rates differ geographically, far more than within other highly developed countries
where national health insurance or health policies are geographically unchanging.
Treatments for HIV & AIDS
Results: There is no cure yet for HIV/AIDS, however there are
treatments that help manage many different symptoms. Treatments can
also increase and improve the length of life for those who are already infected and experiencing symptoms of the disease. Medications such as anemia can be prescribed to patients, to lower white cell count and prevent opportunistic infections. Today, HIV-positive people have many options for HIV/AIDS medication. The FDA has approved more than 25 antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV infection. There is an option to use anti-HIV medications that treat HIV infection, as well as many drugs that treat side effects of the disease or HIV treatment. Trying to develop more medications to treat the disease is a continuous process on researchers behalves. US citizens are required to purchase medical insurance to cover the cost of their treatment. However, there are various outcomes that exist that can provide free HIV treatment to those with no insurance. The USA National HIV/AIDS Strategy, released in July 2010, recognizes that there are substantial amounts of people living with HIV. One third of those who test positive, are aware of their status, however, are not in care. The Strategy places a strong emphasis on the impact of the Affordable Care Act, which came into effect January 2014. Changes implicated in the Affordable Care Act include expanded Medicaid eligibility, protection for people with a preexisting condition or chronic illness HIV/AIDS allowing them to access health insurance, and increased access to tax credits.
EDUCATION ON HIV & AIDS
Conclusion: Being educated on HIV/AIDS is critical for our society to continuously improve awareness and medications. HIV/AIDS education for young people plays a vital role in global efforts to end the AIDS epidemic. In 2012, more than one third of all new HIV infections were among young people aged 15-24. By teaching and proving young people with information about HIV/AIDS we are enabling them to protect themselves from contracting the disease. We are teaching todays youth about the disease through school programs. Health classes make a concentrated effort on the disease, the effects and the symptoms. They are taught how to avoid the infection, such as choosing their sexual partners wisely and not touching others blood. Research shows that individuals with a minimum of a primary education know beneficial ways to prevent HIV/AIDS. A 32-country study found that women with post-primary education were five times more likely than illiterate women to know facts about HIV/AIDS. Illiterate women, on the other hand, were four times more likely to believe that there is no way to prevent HIV infection. By educating people about HIV/AIDS, as a society, we are enabling people with the tools and
information to protect them. We are creating a strong tool by educating our youth, which will continue on and eventually lead to educating and helping protect our society.
