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.
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ReplyDeleteSorry, Ashley, I got my blogs confused so I removed what I said to your post as it actually belonged to another student. The reason I feel that you don't hear about it on TV is because the transmission involves sex and advertisers use sex to sell their products. So if you suddenly thought of HIV instead of perfume, sales would plummet.
ReplyDeleteEmployers don't want to talk about HIV in the work place because, once again it involves sex. It makes people uncomfortable. Look at how students get nervous when you start talking about it in class. They laugh to cover up their embarrassment.
My hope is that students who have taken this course will go out into the world and begin to make small changes by talking about it openly. All these small ripples will one day meet and then change will take place.
Hi Ashley. I think Teach's comments were right on the mark. The companies use sex as a positive to sell their products. They don't want people talking about sex in a negative light as this would hurt their sales. Unfortunately there is still a very large stigma associates with HIV//AIDS and most people (and companies) prefer not to talk about it.
ReplyDeleteYou would think that this would be discussed more in the medical field, but I find that there is more conversation within the hospital setting for MRSA, and H1N1. Patients with HIV are flagged for protection reasons but I haven't seen much on the educational front. More people could be reached if educational information was out in the open in public places for people to see and read.
I agree with you, I think HIV should be much more publicized. I had no idea that it was the leading cause of death in people ages 25-44. I was wondering, though, if anybody knows if that is the statistic for America or for the whole world? Most people know about HIV but not enough information. Like I did not know that you can catch it through oral sex. And most people don't know how common it is and they don't see it as a serious threat. I think that if HIV was more of a publicized issue, there would be a decrease of people getting HIV.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about HIV awareness being more publicized. Like others before me have said I think it makes people very uncomfortable to talk about. That being said, who cares if it makes people uncomfortable?!?! It is so important to make people aware of this disease. This disease is completely preventable and its killing so many people. It seems ludicrous that there are not more opportunities for awareness to be spread throughout communities. Hopefully each student who takes this course can go out into the world and make even a small difference about HIV/AIDS awareness.
ReplyDeleteAshley, I was unaware that the leading cause of death from 25 to 44 was HIV infections. I would not have thought that at all. I would have said accidents or another disease. Also, it is interesting that even though it is the leading cause of death for this age range, I do not see any prevention aids or any kind of communication that says it is the leading cause of death for this age group so you should not do it! I completely agree with teach in her reason why it is not on commercials or in magazines. Sales would drop, but I feel as if our generation and generations after will talk about sex and the dangers it comes with eventually and prevention methods will be thought in class and on TV.
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