The week before Thanksgiving

I signed up for my spring classes. I ended up enrolling in health care economics, health science research methods, pathophysiologic mechanisms, and intro to organic & biochemistry. So that is the spring line up.

I recently watched Philadelphia for the extra credit. I really miss the cinema from the earlier days. TV has really come a long way. It was a great movie though. It shows homophobia at its finest.

I found an interesting paper online today. It was about my did you know topic of college students and HIV.

Did you know?

"The studies...indicate a consistent pattern of low perceived susceptibility to HIV/ AIDS among college student populations across broad geographical and chronological boundaries" (Jack Turner).

The studies they did shows that college students don't really take HIV as a big deal. They aren't aware of how deadly it really is. Also, they recorded a high rate of sexual contact without a condom. It's a shame, you thought our age group would be smarter. On second thought.

You can read more about his studies at the link below:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18605471/HIV-AIDS-and-College-Students-Using-Wittes-EPPM-to-Creat-Persuasive-Posters

AIDS Orphans need education, too

This week’s QOTW was crazy. Can you really imagine people being tracked because they are HIV positive? The government is getting too involved with people’s personal lives. The question of the week was talking about the government being able to keep tabs on sexual partners of the micro chipped individual. Talk about an invasion of privacy. I really hope our society will not end up like this. I hope technologically advances don’t subject us to this type of behavior.

Did you know?

This week, I was researching my topic of HIV and schools. I found an organization that was founded in 2001 in Uganda. The Nyaka AIDS Orphan School Organization offers education to the children in the area. Of just 30 million in the city, 2.2 children are left orphans by one or more parents dying of AIDS. This leaves grandparents or older children to care for the young. It is difficult to keep the orphans fed and a roof over their head and it's even harder for them to receive an education. That is why this organization is so important. Two United States Citizens visited this place, and saw for themselves just how bad the AIDS epidemic was in Uganda. When they returned to the United States, they started to raise money with their peers and church. Soon they bought 2 acres of land where the school was to be built.




This was an incredible accomplishment for the area. Children have been attending Nyaka and enjoying themselves like never before. This is an excellent opportunity for children who have been affected by the AIDS epidemic.


Nyaka AIDS Orphans School. (2008). Nyaka School. Retrieved November 10, 2009, from http://www.nyakaschool.org/index.php

Release me!

This week we had an interesting question of the week regarding the ethical treatment of chimpanzees when it comes to testing HIV vaccines. I further researched into the topic finding some neat facts. The chimp has a 99% DNA match to a human; therefore they are often used for testing human products. However, there is controversial testing of an HIV vaccine on these primates.

“Although HIV can replicate in their bodies, chimpanzees infected with HIV do not become sick with symptoms of HIV or AIDS. Yet, those still pushing for their use have gone to great and invasive lengths – quite outside of the normal progression of the infection in humans – to attempt to force an HIV infection to progress to “AIDS-like” symptoms” (NEAVS). Even after a chimp is in infected, they will eventually shed the virus, or no longer test positive (NEAVS).

This is disgusting to me. In the infected chimps, “they do not represent how the disease infects, progresses, or kills in humans” (NEAVS). So why are we STILL testing on them? If you look at the picture posted in this blog, you can see a helpless chimp strapped down with a syringe lying next to it. This animal is so much similar to a human; can you imagine a human in its place? The researchers testing these drugs don’t care if the chimpanzee is in agonizing pain. That is the sick part. Maybe, just maybe, I could see that this testing could be a necessity because we really do need to come up with a vaccine for AIDS. But when you KNOW that these chimps aren’t any good to your research, then why continue to torture them. That is dying in vain.

New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS). (2009). Release and restitution for chimpanzees in U.S. laboratories. Retrieved November 3, 2009 from http://www.releasechimps.org/harm-suffering/research-current/hivaids-debacle/

Did you know?

**In Tasmania, the Department of Education has HIV/AIDS guidelines for students.

- There is no legal obligation for those who have been infected (or been at risk of infection) to inform the school.

- Students who have been infected by HIV should not be excluded from school or isolated within the school.

- Principals are legally bound to respect the confidentiality of that information. (Like our question of the week!)

** http://www.education.tas.gov.au/school/health/students_health_care_requirements/procedures/hivaids_policy_and_procedures

Blood is high in demand

I reviewed the slides for this week’s assignment and found something very intriguing. I believe it was about those who receive blood, 1 in 150,000 will receive an infected unit (Douglass, slide 7). I had to read that a few times to believe it. In this country, you have a 1 out of 150,000 chance that you could receive an infected portion of blood. The odds seem terribly likely. When I think of how much blood people are pumped with from car accidents or surgeries every day from all over the country, it scares me that our supply is not cleaner. With the amount of science we have at our fingertips, I would think our blood supply would be nearly perfect. I thought they would have better odds than this.

I found a story online that tied in with our question of the week, and my “did you know” column about students.

The article followed a seven year old student whom attended an elementary school in Yugoslavia. This boy was HIV positive. The article followed his social environment and how he was shunned from not only other children, but more specifically, other children’s parents.

I tried to write responses to a few students QOTW postings, but this excerpt clearly says it better than I could.

“Besides the efforts of the school faculty as well as the representatives of the Ministry of Education and health institutions, it was not possible to prevent the exclusion of the HIV student forced by the parents of his peers. Even with good basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS among the parents, irrational fear prevailed. This case implies that beside the fact that the general public is well informed of HIV/AIDS and of the willingness of the public and government institutions to help individual cases, unsatisfied awareness of this problem is the important determinant of the behavior of social groups” (Gateway, 2000)*

* http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102238531.html

Douglass, Sharon. (2009). HIV: A Human Concern. HSC 3593, University of Central Florida, Orlando.

No assignment due this week! YAHOO IS RIGHT!

This week I have been playing catch up with all my assignments. I finished watching Silverlake Life, and it made me cry! The part where Mark filmed his deceased partner, Tom, and sang "you are my sunshine, my only sunshine." He kept saying "isn't he beautiful?" It was just so sad, and Mark handled it so well. I know that I wouldn't be that brave if my best friend passed away right in front of me. Last week, a bird I tried to save out of the middle of the road rode home with me and later died in my back yard, right before my eyes. I cried my eyes out. It was so strange seeing something alive one minute, and the very next, poof. Gone. That's it. Watching AIDS literally take someones life really hit a nerve with me. We literally watched Tom waste away week after week in his tapes. But I suppose that was his plan. He really wanted to show the world the grim reality of what his life was like. That is why I am very glad he made this video. It really serves as an education tool for thousands across the country. People need to see it for what it really is.

Did you know?

Currently at the University of Florida, researchers are testing the H1N1 vaccine on patients with HIV/AIDS. The University of Florida Center for HIV/AIDS Research, based at the hospital, will use its existing patients for the study (Jacksonville.com). * They want to see how it affects people with suppressed immune systems.

*http://jacksonville.com/news/2009-10-21/story/shands_jacksonville_to_host_h1n1_vaccine_trials_for_hivaids_patients

I made it to Florida...

This week I have learned about HIV and how it affects my mother’s profession. I am currently visiting my mother in Florida, and I asked her some questions about how she has been affected by HIV. Her name is Robin, and she works in the operating room at a hospital in Volusia County. She is a certified RNFA, or a registered nurse first assist. I asked her if she has ever operated on someone who has had HIV, and she said yes, plenty of times. I asked if the nurses and doctors are notified before hand of the patient’s status, in order to protect themselves. She replied that they sometimes do know, and other times they do not. She said to think about all the people who have HIV and don’t even know it themselves. For this reason, she explains the vitality to use universal precaution. She said that not only was HIV common, but also Hepatitis C. She has operated on more people with Hepatitis C than with HIV.

I also asked my mother the question of the week, regarding letting your child go to a Halloween party. She said that she would still want her child to go to the party, because she wouldn’t want to deny that from her child. She wants them to socialize and have fun. However, she wouldn’t try to explain to her child the risks involved with a possible HIV+ playmate. A child at that age is too carefree, and wouldn’t understand the seriousness of the risk. For this reason, she would attend the party with her child. While there, she can monitor her own child, and keep them safe from possible danger. She would rather come off as an overprotected mother than allowing her child to go to the Halloween party alone.

After hearing my mother’s response to the question of the week, I thought her answer was a great one. I didn’t think of attending the party with my child. I thought I would talk to the parents of the child. My mom totally avoided bringing the HIV topic up and just took matters into her own hands in a silent safe way. *

Now let’s take a look at a fun fact for the week.

Did you know?

Su-I Hou, associate professor in the UGA College of Public Health, surveyed more than 500 students and found that they scored higher on general questions related to HIV and AIDS (82 percent correct) than items specifically related to HIV testing (72 percent correct).**

Ok it’s great that our students know about HIV, but they need to know more about testing! How do we expect them to go get tested and know their status, if they don’t have a decent amount of information on the testing itself! Yes, many know the fears and awful things that accompany HIV. Now lets teach them how to diminish it! Get tested, know your status.

**http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/08/27/study.reveals.gap.hiv.testing.knowledge.among.college.students

*Robin Harty. Personal Interview. 12 Oct. 2009.

I picked Russia as my foreign country. They used to not have any laws governing the privacy of HIV. In fact, they would publicly announce the names of people on the news as to embarass the infected and urge others to steer clear of risky lifestyles. However, in 1995, things drastically changed with the implementation of a new law.

"All information about an individual’s HIV test and its results is confidential. However, the Federal Law of 30 March 1995 does not ensure mandatory confidentiality. The confidentiality obligations of medical professionals and other persons who obtained HIV test information in the course of training or in the line of duty are regulated by the Fundamentals of Legislation of the Russian Federation on Protection of Citizens’ Health, of 22 July 1993. Article 61 of the Fundamentals specifies the list of situations in which confidential information can be communicated to third parties without the consent of the person concerned. One such situation refers to the danger of spreading infectious diseases " (HIVpolicy).

http://hivpolicy.net/topics/?id=40&page=118

Moving along to October...

So we had an eight page paper due on diseases that usually accompany HIV. I researched toxoplasmosis, and I found it to be very interesting. It is considered a parasite that many people have. They don't even know they have it living in their intestines! Sometimes I think I may have this parasite, because they can live in you, and you won't even show symptoms. I used to be very bad when it came to washing vegetables, or being very cautious around raw meat. Whenever I would work around it, I felt pretty invincible. The type of attitude of "a little dirt won't hurt." I also have a cat, and the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis spreads through cats! They* say to be very careful handling cat litter boxes, because the disease is shed in the feces of the cat. There is really no telling if I, being a healthy adult, have the parasite because the immune system will suppress the parasitic symptoms*.

*http://www.cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/

I also went to the doctor this week for my final injection of Gardasil, a drug used to fight HPV (human papillomavirus). When I went to my doctor, there was a pamphlet about HIV/ AIDS in the exam room. I grabbed it, and took it with me. When the nurse came in to give me the shot, I told her about the big 8 pager we had due. I was pretty much just talking to take my mind off the needle. Which, by the way, hurt very bad. It was like a spring loaded needle, and instead of the hip, I wanted my arm. Ouch.

Anyway, once I got the shot, she told me to wait in the waiting room for 15 minutes before I left, just to make sure I wouldn't have a reaction to the drug. So I went and sat in the waiting room, and had my HIV/ AIDS pamphlet in my hand. On post (army base) the clinics are pretty large, with big open waiting rooms. There were people sitting around me, and I notice someone staring at me. I looked up and this woman was looking at the pamphlet, and then looked up at me. I could only imagine what she was thinking.

Now time for our fun fact of the week!

Did you know?

The University of Sydney has a policy on students with HIV and Hepatitis B. It announces that these students are prohibited from “exposure-prone” activities. Astonishing that a college could shun you from activities you enjoy, as if you’re not going through enough already.

Read the 5 page policy here:

http://www.usyd.edu.au/ab/policies/HIV_HepB.pdf

Don't stop till you reach the top

Another week has passed in our HIV class. I have been reading the remainder of my book Surviving the Fall. Towards the end of the book, the author starts to connect his personal life with his professional life, which was interesting to watch unravel. The book was a good guideline for someone who has to deal with a loss. Since I recently lived through my own experience of my grandmother having a stroke, I was better able to relate to the author. The same feelings I have had to go through, the author illustrates them in a way I could never describe myself. Nonetheless, it was a great book for me to read at this point in my life.

I also kept on writing module 4 signs and symptoms. I never received a call from the health clinic this past Thursday. They said if I didn’t get a call in a week that “no news is good news.” I still plan on going back in to receive some post test counseling. I think it will be an interesting process, since I had to personally request to come in and be counseled. The health department in Texas has had their funding cut, and since this cut, they have done away with revealing test results in person, and with the counseling.

The next assignment I will be putting work into will be the 8 page paper due this Friday. I have started with the herpes simplex virus as my first disease to research. It was actually a task to find out HOW herpes was caused. The standard answer was something like, sexual contact. But I wanted to know the actual microscopic cause of herpes simplex. After a bit of research I found a very detailed journal regarding the infection of herpes.

The page length is extensive, but I think this is more to make or break the students. Many students freak out about the length and amount of work this class entails. I did that the first time I took it, but now I see it at a test. It’s not entirely hard; it’s more testing us as university students. I’m taking 17 credit hours this semester, and I feel like this class is the most demanding of my course load. The assignments seem to build up to this big paper, but once this is over, it will smooth sailing from here on out. This is just making us stronger students.

Now it is time for our fun fact of the week. Did you know?

The Taiwan AIDS Foundation said that according to Department of Health's Centers for Disease Control statistics, the average age of HIV positive people in the country is getting younger. The foundation's secretary-general, Chiung-chao, stated that the number of HIV-positive students rose to 156 in 2008, up from 110 in 2007. "The figures mark an alarming 42 percent year-on-year surge," he said.**

** http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155486.php

HIV testing nightmare in Texas…

This week in class, I have been spending a majority of my time reading my book Surviving the Fall by Dr. Peter A. Selwyn. Last Thursday I went to the local health clinic and had my HIV test completed. I learned a variety about the state of Texas, and their rules and regulations regarding the HIV test. My experience was everything but enjoyable. When the nurse brought me back to the room, she sat me down and was preparing to take my blood by wrapping the elastic band around my upper arm. I asked her “what HIV tests are you offering me?” She didn’t know what I was talking about, and said the only way was to draw my blood.

Let me take a few steps back.

There were three people in this room, and they were going to ask me all these personal questions WHILE taking my blood. I said I felt uncomfortable answering these questions in front of multiple people and thought it was supposed to be confidential and private. The woman tossed the test tube down on the counter. She turned to me with her hand on her hip, and said to me with an attitude “This is how we are going to do it.” I was blown away with her approach and asked for the manager of the facility. I don’t want to give too much away, because I plan on writing a majority of this in my paper.

As soon as I got into the car to leave the facility, I called Teach and left her a message. I was playing out the conversation I would have had with Teach, starting with, “You’re not going to BELIEVE what just happened!”

Now for our fun fact of the week pertaining to HIV and students.

Did you know?

-African-Americans were disproportionately affected by HIV infection, accounting for 55% of all HIV infections reported among young persons ages 13-24. (SADD 2007)*

That is more than half! This may be an important fact to someone who dates within this race.

*http://www.sadd.org/stats.htm#hiv

My AIDS organization......

Since Florida is my home state of record, I decided to pick an organization in Texas. I chose the AIDS Services of Austin organization. This organization helps provide “services that enhance the health and well-being of individuals and the community in the face of an evolving epidemic” (Dailey, 2004).

They offer testing with pre and post counseling, and a free service called the PATH program which is a private one on one session with a risk reduction counselor for any questions you may have. ASA has a dentist that can work with HIV+ people in need of primary dental and oral care. Another service is the Capital Area AIDS Legal Project (CAALP) which provides free legal assistance to low-income persons with HIV” (Dailey, 2004). For case managed individuals, ASA offers the helping hands food bank which provides food, nutritional supplements and personal care items (Dailey 2004).

Dailey, Robert. (2004). What We Do. In AIDS Services of Austin . Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.asaustin.org/site/PageServer?pagename=what_what_we_do.

Growing into the next week...

I have been searching to get myself tested for HIV, as per class assignment. I have been searching in my area, and there is the local health clinic here in Bell County. This office offers HIV testing for $10. If you wanted a full STD screening it was an additional $50!

I was shocked to hear such information! I feel that price is a bit high to be testing people for diseases. If we want people to be healthy and promote safe sex, then people need to know what they have. So if the average person is searching to be tested before engaging in sexual acts, they may have to save some money before hand. Not only is the price unpleasant, but the fact that the Bell County Health Department ONLY offers STD screening on Thursdays at 1:00 PM. I have been reading around and seeing advertisements about getting tested with your partner together, before the two of you have sex. The health department backs you into a specific time slot, which decreases the chances of people getting tested before engaging in sex. What if the couple works during this time, like many normal people do since its mid day on a week day? Perhaps if the testing was more available and offered at a lower price, more people would take advantage of it.

Now it's time for a fun fact of the week on my research topic- HIV and students!

This is my topic of interest that I will research each week and update you on tid bits I find out about the subject.

Did you know?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College Health Association estimate that 1 in 500 college students are infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).**

I think back to my auditorium class of biology at UCF that can hold 350 people. I bet every student in that room thinks it can't happen to them. Well it can, and it will if you're not careful and take the time to protect yourself.

**Read more: http://www.stateuniversity.com/blog/permalink/College-Students-and-HIV-AIDS.html#ixzz0RE5vA7Ob

You learn something new everyday...

After reviewing the first module labeled statistics, I came across an interesting fact that struck me on slide 93 of the CD-ROM. "HIV infection is the leading cause of death in persons 25-44 years of age." *

http://www.disastercenter.com/cdc/111riske.html

At the above website, it shows that the leading cause of death is accidents and adverse effects. Then as the second leading cause of death is HIV infection.

This is only one website, however. It still lists it as number 2. If you are to google "leading cause of death 25-44" many websites pop up with AIDS or HIV in the description.

To me that is just mind boggling. The number one cause is from this disease. I ask myself "why don't I hear more about this?" Why aren't people making this a bigger deal in the US? There are a lot of commercials promoting safety for drinking and driving and wearing your seat belt because of numerous car accidents, but HIV has few and far between "safe band wagon" opportunities. I think I should see it on billboards, and radio ads, and magazines!

I just think the leading cause of death is not known among this age group, and it should be. I thought of a way to reach many people with education. How about education at jobs? Think about it. The age range of 25-44 is usually a working adult. How about making it required for the employer to educate it's employee's on the leading killer of their age range?

*Douglass, Sharon. (2009, Sept 05). HIV: A Human Concern, HSA3654. University of Central Florida.