This will be the last time that I ever blog because although the experience was good with blogging for this class, I just don’t like to chat online. I have really left this class more knowledgeable on this disease and I never thought that I would be leaving this class with such more intellectual depth on this topic. I thought that I would learn a few thing here and there and that only few facts would stick. I found that to be wrong because of all the work that had to be put in for this class. I have never written so much in life for one class, ever! It was worth it nonetheless because this subject is very important in preventing me from contracting a disease and learning how to spread this information to others. I don’t think that I’ll ever have to write this much for a class again but if I could choose what class I would write this amount for it would be this one. I really enjoyed watching all those videos for one of our assignment because those were the moments that really impacted me intellectually and emotionally on this class. The Silverlake video got me the most because the way the video was made was so personal and touching as to see two individuals who loved each other and living with AIDS and ended so sadly with one dying at the end.
Did you know?....
At the Passaic County Jail in New Jersey, two former immigration detainees being held were said to be denied adequate HIV/AIDS treatment during their prison terms (The Body, 2005). A Jamaican man who had spent five years in prison at three different facilities said that he often encountered lapses in his drug regimen because of long delays in the transfer of his medical records (The Body, 2005). A New York University legal clinic that took up the case said that the jail had initially refused to let the man take his pills at 12-hour intervals and that he had become resistant to many HIV/AIDS medications (The Body, 2005). Another man that had also been in the same shoes as the other individual said from December 2003 to April 2004 he missed nearly three weeks of treatment because of delays getting his medical record from Rikers Island prison in New York City and delays in receiving medical examinations at Passaic (The Body, 2005). He also said guards ignored his requests to see a doctor and would openly talk about his HIV status (The Body, 2005). Accoring to the Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale, he say’s that he had not heard of this case but that these are “two people you're talking to me about, two people out of 1,700; I think I'm doing pretty good” (The Body, 2005). He also said that that guards have the right to know who is HIV-positive to protect themselves (The Body, 2005). In July of 2005, Speziale told auditors conducting the review to leave and said he would stop housing detainees (The Body, 2005).
The Body. (2005). Retrieved by November 25, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/art9467.html.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Blog #12
This is the last time that I will be blogging for this class or at all in general. I had never blogged before entering this class. For the most part I like blogging because I was allowed to say what was on my mind about the class, the assignments, and my emotions towards them. Although I like the experience of blogging for the first time, I will honestly say that I will never do it again unless I have too. I don’t like just sitting in front of a computer and just typing about stuff, it just isn’t me. I really enjoyed our simulations from earlier in the semester about the Thrush and PCP and even recently with the m&m simulation. Although we wrote a lot in this class I learned a lot of things that I did not know. I just got out of the men’s panel not too long ago and I liked listening to the guests about how they handled having the disease, what they believe in about the disease and how optimistic they are with fighting it. I can’t believe of all the struggles that they have gone through just to stay alive. I greatly enjoyed listening to them speak and it was a pleasure to having them speak amongst those who were there when they didn’t have to. I liked the fact that I took this class and I don’t have any regrets taking it because this is a subject that everybody should learn about, including me, and we need to be as educated as possible about this issue because millions die every year because of this ongoing plague.
Did You Know?........
According to Palm Beach County commissioners, there was a plan in 2003 to make a state law that would enforce every county for jail inmates to undergo an HIV test in the state of Florida. With this plan, prisoners would be tested regardless of whether they had been convicted of any crimes (The Body, 2003). Commissioner Addie Greene, believes that a mandatory HIV testing of inmates would help decrease the prevalence of HIV in jails particularly among minority groups but others see the idea of it just costing too much (The Body, 2003). Ruth Gottlieb, chair of the Palm Beach County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union claims that “mandatory HIV testing is wrong.” She also questioned Greene's goal of increasing minority testing because only a small percentage of the minority community is being tested (The Body, 2003). Glenn Krabec, an immediate past chair of the county HIV Care Council, said that mandatory testing of people convicted of crimes probably would be a good idea, but testing of everyone before conviction would not because those who are convicted for their crimes could be transferred elsewhere, which would not help contain the disease because there would be new inmates coming in that could be already infected and therefore making this whole idea irrelevant. This is why HCC Program Director Gerald Adams said he was "absolutely" in favor of testing everyone who enters the jail (The Body, 2003). A few commissioners briefly acknowledged such concerns but commissioners have still unanimously approved of Greene's idea in asking the Legislature to pass a mandatory jail testing law (The Body, 2003).
The Body. (2003). Retrieved by November,18, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art6811.html
Did You Know?........
According to Palm Beach County commissioners, there was a plan in 2003 to make a state law that would enforce every county for jail inmates to undergo an HIV test in the state of Florida. With this plan, prisoners would be tested regardless of whether they had been convicted of any crimes (The Body, 2003). Commissioner Addie Greene, believes that a mandatory HIV testing of inmates would help decrease the prevalence of HIV in jails particularly among minority groups but others see the idea of it just costing too much (The Body, 2003). Ruth Gottlieb, chair of the Palm Beach County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union claims that “mandatory HIV testing is wrong.” She also questioned Greene's goal of increasing minority testing because only a small percentage of the minority community is being tested (The Body, 2003). Glenn Krabec, an immediate past chair of the county HIV Care Council, said that mandatory testing of people convicted of crimes probably would be a good idea, but testing of everyone before conviction would not because those who are convicted for their crimes could be transferred elsewhere, which would not help contain the disease because there would be new inmates coming in that could be already infected and therefore making this whole idea irrelevant. This is why HCC Program Director Gerald Adams said he was "absolutely" in favor of testing everyone who enters the jail (The Body, 2003). A few commissioners briefly acknowledged such concerns but commissioners have still unanimously approved of Greene's idea in asking the Legislature to pass a mandatory jail testing law (The Body, 2003).
The Body. (2003). Retrieved by November,18, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art6811.html
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Blog #11
We only have three weeks left in school and I must say that I’m very happy to hear that. I desperately want this semester to end because I’ve been exhausted of writing so much not only for this class but for my other classes as well. I’ve really liked that fact that for the past few weeks we haven’t had any writing assignment except for the M&M project. I don’t know what it is but when I write a lot and then take a long break like for this class I for some reason feel like I get writers block. Changing topic, in this weeks question of the week I found that those plans or ideas from Cuba and the province of Papua were extremely dumb and unfair to the people with the disease. How could you just implant a chip in someone and just keep track of their every move just because of their condition. I understand that there are people with HIV who do things that they shouldn’t but it doesn’t mean that everybody with HIV are doing the same. You can’t just put certain individuals in camps and just separate them from society because most of them just want to live their lives the fullest.
Did you know???
After two decades, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) officials ended a ban of prisoners with HIV from participating in the state's work release program just recently in August of this year (The Body, 2009). The American Civil Liberties Union fought for the lifting of this ban because they felt that it was an “arbitrary and discriminatory denial” of not allowing prisoners to participate in a program that is important for them in making their reintegration back into society. Work release programs increase the odds of prisoners making it back into society by having to sustain a paying job, gaining jobs skills and experiences and begin paying off court fees and even finding permanent jobs (The Body, 2009). However, there continues to be discrimination of prisoners with HIV in Alabama. They are “excluded from faith-based honor dorms, prison dining halls, residential substance abuse and re-entry programs and work crews” (The Body, 2009). They are also have limited access to sports fields, recreational opportunities and most prison jobs (The Body, 2009).
The Body. (2002). Retrieved by November, 4, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art53211.html
Did you know???
After two decades, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) officials ended a ban of prisoners with HIV from participating in the state's work release program just recently in August of this year (The Body, 2009). The American Civil Liberties Union fought for the lifting of this ban because they felt that it was an “arbitrary and discriminatory denial” of not allowing prisoners to participate in a program that is important for them in making their reintegration back into society. Work release programs increase the odds of prisoners making it back into society by having to sustain a paying job, gaining jobs skills and experiences and begin paying off court fees and even finding permanent jobs (The Body, 2009). However, there continues to be discrimination of prisoners with HIV in Alabama. They are “excluded from faith-based honor dorms, prison dining halls, residential substance abuse and re-entry programs and work crews” (The Body, 2009). They are also have limited access to sports fields, recreational opportunities and most prison jobs (The Body, 2009).
The Body. (2002). Retrieved by November, 4, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art53211.html
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Blog #10
Wow, this is the 9th blog that I’ve written but yet it feels like I’ve written more! This blogging experience has been new to me this semester and I’ve surprisingly liked it. This week we’re supposed to be working on the M&M project and I must say that it is tough to be swallowing m&ms on a daily basis. It’s hard enough to remember to take this make believe pills in the quantity that we have to but swallowing them can sometimes be difficult. Sometimes they get stuck in my throat two-thirds the way down and I’ll eat a piece of bread to push it down. Although I like chocolate and love m&ms, I cannot just chew on them because this project is supposed to be a simulation of what people with real HIV go through in having to take medications on a daily basis for the rest of their lives. I am so blessed to be healthy and be living a happy life. People take it for granted that we are healthy or that things are going our way. We could have easily been born with this disease without any chance of preventing it. We should always be grateful for our blessings because our lives could be a lot worse. Right now as I’m listening to classical music while writing this blog, I just wish that the world was free from evil thoughts, killings, deaths, diseases and instead full of love happiness, humbleness and good hearted people. When I listen to this kind of music it just puts me in that mind frame because the music is so soothing, peaceful, and loving.
Did you know?,,,
In Indiana prisons in 2002, occurrences of HIV cases among inmates were in the process of leveling off although the incidence was 10 times higher than those in the regular population (The Body, 2002). At the time, there were 215 people in Indiana prisons with HIV but roughly 1 percent, or 21,507 people, was HIV-positive according to the Department of Correction officials (The Body, 2002). The rate number of HIV-positive prisoners had slowed down compared to the rate of the overall prison population (The Body, 2002). The percentage of HIV-positive inmates in Indiana had reached below the national average of 2.1 percent and Prison and health experts attribute the trend to “increased awareness of the disease and improved treatment” (The Body, 2002).
The Body. (2002). Retrieved by November, 4, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/art30930.html#hiv_inmates
Did you know?,,,
In Indiana prisons in 2002, occurrences of HIV cases among inmates were in the process of leveling off although the incidence was 10 times higher than those in the regular population (The Body, 2002). At the time, there were 215 people in Indiana prisons with HIV but roughly 1 percent, or 21,507 people, was HIV-positive according to the Department of Correction officials (The Body, 2002). The rate number of HIV-positive prisoners had slowed down compared to the rate of the overall prison population (The Body, 2002). The percentage of HIV-positive inmates in Indiana had reached below the national average of 2.1 percent and Prison and health experts attribute the trend to “increased awareness of the disease and improved treatment” (The Body, 2002).
The Body. (2002). Retrieved by November, 4, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/art30930.html#hiv_inmates
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Blog #8
In this week’s blog, I’d like to say that I enjoyed my time off last Friday and I felt free not having anything restricting me from enjoying my day. Three weeks has passed by since I was tested for HIV and on November 3rd I will be getting my results in which I am looking forward to. I am not scared one bit because I am confident that it will come out negative. This week we were given our QOTW #9 and I kind of had to think about this question for a little before immediately answering it. I feel that the parents of the child who got bit should be informed of my child’s condition because it is the right thing to do. How would you feel if were the parents of the other child and you weren’t told that the child who bit your child was HIV positive? The consequences though of telling these parents are that they might want to retaliate towards my child’s actions and press for a lawsuit or spread the news around to other parents.
This semester is coming to an end and I’d have greatly appreciated all the things that I have learned from this class, especially watching the movies, and I will always value them. I can just remember when this semester first started and had to those first two assignments on thrush and PCP and remembered thinking that this class would be interesting. I never thought this class would challenge me in so many ways but I am happy it did because I’ve learned so much and has made me a better student.
Did you know?.......
According to a survey released Chicago detainees from Children and teens in the U.S. juvenile system are reported of high rates of behaviors that put them at risk of HIV/AIDS (The Body, 2003). Mostly all reported that they had at one point put themselves at high risk of getting HIV through unprotected sex and getting tattoos with potentially dirty needles (The Body, 2003). Dr. Linda A. Teplin, a legal health expert at Northwestern University, says that these students “may be too busy skipping school to learn about HIV, and they don't have much parental support in their lives” and that their best chance of being educated is in prison (The Body, 2003). To help fix this problem, she suggests that corrections officials to do more to prevent the spread of HIV but the specifics as to what they could do was not specified though it could be assumed that educating these juveniles would be the best solution (The Body, 2003).
The Body. (May, 30, 2003). Retrieved October 28, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art27932.html
This semester is coming to an end and I’d have greatly appreciated all the things that I have learned from this class, especially watching the movies, and I will always value them. I can just remember when this semester first started and had to those first two assignments on thrush and PCP and remembered thinking that this class would be interesting. I never thought this class would challenge me in so many ways but I am happy it did because I’ve learned so much and has made me a better student.
Did you know?.......
According to a survey released Chicago detainees from Children and teens in the U.S. juvenile system are reported of high rates of behaviors that put them at risk of HIV/AIDS (The Body, 2003). Mostly all reported that they had at one point put themselves at high risk of getting HIV through unprotected sex and getting tattoos with potentially dirty needles (The Body, 2003). Dr. Linda A. Teplin, a legal health expert at Northwestern University, says that these students “may be too busy skipping school to learn about HIV, and they don't have much parental support in their lives” and that their best chance of being educated is in prison (The Body, 2003). To help fix this problem, she suggests that corrections officials to do more to prevent the spread of HIV but the specifics as to what they could do was not specified though it could be assumed that educating these juveniles would be the best solution (The Body, 2003).
The Body. (May, 30, 2003). Retrieved October 28, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art27932.html
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Blog #7
In this weeks blog, I’d like to first start of by saying that I am very happy that we don’t have an assignment or module due this week because I really need the break and I am sure everyone else does too. I’ve gotten to the point where I am use to doing these big assignments every week and I don’t feel lazy doing them. I know in the past, like years ago, if I would have been given these long assignments I would have put them off to the last minute and would have not done such a god job like I’ve been doing with the assignments in this class. I’ve been pleased with the scores I’ve been getting because I’ve put in a lot of hard work to achieve the best grade in this class. I also am striving to do my best in this class out of respect to all those who suffer from HIV or AIDS in that I am not BSing these assignments just to get through with the course. I want to give myself that satisfaction and to let all those who are ill with this disease that I tried to learn as much as I could in this class and that I take this illness very serious and I don’t want to take anything for granted. Many who are ill in the world didn’t contract the illness through the standard sexually transmitted or using drugs way but somehow in an unfortunate way contracted it from somewhere that is unknown. I could have contracted this illness maybe by accident when I was younger when getting a shot and the needle may not have been new. I have enjoyed the assignments of reading a book, watching movies, and getting tested for HIV because it showed me in depth of how people live with the disease, how they handle it, and the real process that goes on with getting tested for HIV. The feeling I like the most with getting tested is that for that moment and the weeks followed with waiting for the results to comeback is that a majority of those infected in the world had to go through the same process that I did with getting tested. In addition, we can all relate with how it felt like to wait those weeks or time period to get the results back even though many had way more greater concern with their test than I did. I essentially put myself in their issue and felt what they felt with this whole process which allows me to fully understand the feeling that they go through when waiting for their test results.
Did you know?......
Federal data released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, have found that AIDS-related death rates in jails, state prisons have dropped significantly (The Body, 2005). In 1988, jail mortality rate from AIDS-related illnesses were 20 dead for every 100,000 inmates and in 2002, the mortality rate were 8 dead for every 100,000 inmates as well (The Body, 2005). This shows that the mortality rate has decreased by 12 inmates between fourteen years, which is a big decrease (The Body, 2005). In state prisons from 1995 to 2000, the mortality rate in state prisons has as well enormously decreased from AIDS-related illnesses (The Body 2005). Within that time period (5 years), their has been a decrease of inmate mortality rate of about 75 inmates that is 100 deaths for every 100,000 inmates in 1995 and 15 deaths for every 100,000 inmates in 2000 (The Body, 2005). Officials attributes to this sharp drop from improved medical equipment and advocacy groups being more aggressive in filing lawsuits to improve conditions in jails and state prisons (The Body, 2005.
The Body. (August, 22, 2005). Retrieved by October 21, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art9490.html
Did you know?......
Federal data released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, have found that AIDS-related death rates in jails, state prisons have dropped significantly (The Body, 2005). In 1988, jail mortality rate from AIDS-related illnesses were 20 dead for every 100,000 inmates and in 2002, the mortality rate were 8 dead for every 100,000 inmates as well (The Body, 2005). This shows that the mortality rate has decreased by 12 inmates between fourteen years, which is a big decrease (The Body, 2005). In state prisons from 1995 to 2000, the mortality rate in state prisons has as well enormously decreased from AIDS-related illnesses (The Body 2005). Within that time period (5 years), their has been a decrease of inmate mortality rate of about 75 inmates that is 100 deaths for every 100,000 inmates in 1995 and 15 deaths for every 100,000 inmates in 2000 (The Body, 2005). Officials attributes to this sharp drop from improved medical equipment and advocacy groups being more aggressive in filing lawsuits to improve conditions in jails and state prisons (The Body, 2005.
The Body. (August, 22, 2005). Retrieved by October 21, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art9490.html
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Blog 6
This past week I got my first HIV test and I must say it was exactly how I thought it would be. I knew that I would have to go in the clinic and fill out this confidential report regarding my sex life and whether if I’ve been tested before. I felt confident, though, that my test would turn out negative. Before I got tested using Orasure, I was asked very personal questions in regards to my sex life that I felt uncomfortable answering them. I’m sure you all know what I am talking about so I don’t have to give examples in the types of questions I was asked. However, the experience was very good and I like the fact that I went to get tested because I can learn from these experiences and understand how it would feel like for someone who is not as fortunate as me in not being fully confident that they are not infected. When I was tested, I had to put this stick swab thing in my mouth and had to rub my inner cheek a few times and then let it rest there for two minutes. The swab had a funny taste but at least there were lollipops next to me that I could have to get rid of the taste. When I get my results back I will share them with you so that you guys know how my health is.
Did you know?.....
According the district Department of Health in Washington D.C., data released in 2007 showed that female inmates in jails in Washington D.C. have been detected in having high number cases of having HIV (The Body, 2007). This data was released as “part of a summary of its six-month campaign encouraging district residents to be tested for HIV” (The Body, 2007). In a campaign made by the District of health officials and HIV/AIDS advocates, people in the Washington D.C. district were told to get tested and 400,000 people from men, women, and children ranging from ages 14-84 were encouraged to do so (The Body, 2007). According to statistics presented at the Mayor's Task Force on HIV/AIDS, not based on the results that were found from the participants for the campaign but rather those living in the district, 25,000 or more 4% of the population were found to in possibly have HIV (The Body, 2007).
In Canada, “common law has long recognized that health-care professionals owe a duty of confidentiality to their patients, subject to some exceptions” (Confidentiality, 2000). In some provinces, confidentiality is imposed by statue and it is considered a professional misconduct for a health professional to give out personal information about a patient to another person without receiving that patient’s consent except if its “as required or allowed by law (Confidentiality, 2000). However, professional bodies, legislatures and courts have recognized the fact there could be exception when trying to protect the third parties (Confidentiality, 2000). For example, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) do consider it to be unethical to allow physicians’ to disclose to a spouse or sexual partner about their patients condition if the patient is willingly holding back information that could put them at risk (Confidentiality, 2000). Such disclosure may be justified when all the following conditions are met: the partner is at risk of infection with HIV and has no other reasonable means of knowing of the risk; the patient has refused to inform their sexual partner; the patient has refused an offer of assistance by the physician to do so on the patient’s behalf; and the physician has informed the patient of the physician’s intention to disclose the information to the partner (Confidentiality, 2000). However, before disclosing any information, the physician should encourage the patient to either disclose or stop any unsafe behaviors and counseling should be given if all this fails (Confidentiality, 2000). In all other jurisdictions except for Yukon and Prince Edward Island (where physicians are permitted to disclose confidential information for the same reasons given above), “the physician must be guided by existing legislation regarding medical confidentiality and by any common law regarding confidentiality (and permitted or obligatory breaches of confidentiality)” (Confidentiality, 2000).
Confidentiality. (2000). Retrieved on October 14, 2009, from http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Confidentiality.pdf
The Body. (August, 2, 2007). Retrieved on October 14, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art42565.html
Did you know?.....
According the district Department of Health in Washington D.C., data released in 2007 showed that female inmates in jails in Washington D.C. have been detected in having high number cases of having HIV (The Body, 2007). This data was released as “part of a summary of its six-month campaign encouraging district residents to be tested for HIV” (The Body, 2007). In a campaign made by the District of health officials and HIV/AIDS advocates, people in the Washington D.C. district were told to get tested and 400,000 people from men, women, and children ranging from ages 14-84 were encouraged to do so (The Body, 2007). According to statistics presented at the Mayor's Task Force on HIV/AIDS, not based on the results that were found from the participants for the campaign but rather those living in the district, 25,000 or more 4% of the population were found to in possibly have HIV (The Body, 2007).
In Canada, “common law has long recognized that health-care professionals owe a duty of confidentiality to their patients, subject to some exceptions” (Confidentiality, 2000). In some provinces, confidentiality is imposed by statue and it is considered a professional misconduct for a health professional to give out personal information about a patient to another person without receiving that patient’s consent except if its “as required or allowed by law (Confidentiality, 2000). However, professional bodies, legislatures and courts have recognized the fact there could be exception when trying to protect the third parties (Confidentiality, 2000). For example, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) do consider it to be unethical to allow physicians’ to disclose to a spouse or sexual partner about their patients condition if the patient is willingly holding back information that could put them at risk (Confidentiality, 2000). Such disclosure may be justified when all the following conditions are met: the partner is at risk of infection with HIV and has no other reasonable means of knowing of the risk; the patient has refused to inform their sexual partner; the patient has refused an offer of assistance by the physician to do so on the patient’s behalf; and the physician has informed the patient of the physician’s intention to disclose the information to the partner (Confidentiality, 2000). However, before disclosing any information, the physician should encourage the patient to either disclose or stop any unsafe behaviors and counseling should be given if all this fails (Confidentiality, 2000). In all other jurisdictions except for Yukon and Prince Edward Island (where physicians are permitted to disclose confidential information for the same reasons given above), “the physician must be guided by existing legislation regarding medical confidentiality and by any common law regarding confidentiality (and permitted or obligatory breaches of confidentiality)” (Confidentiality, 2000).
Confidentiality. (2000). Retrieved on October 14, 2009, from http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Confidentiality.pdf
The Body. (August, 2, 2007). Retrieved on October 14, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art42565.html
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Blog #5
In this week’s blog, I’d like to start off by saying that I’m exhausted from last week’s assignment. I must say this was the longest assignment that I’ve ever had to do. It was a good assignment to do though because it allowed and obligated us to learn about other illness that we might not have been familiar with such as HIV wasting syndrome, Herpes simplex, and Kaposi's sarcoma. Yesterday on Tuesday I watched the two mandatory movies that have to be watched for Assignment 4, Silverlake Life: The View From Here and Common Threads: Stories From The Quilt. Before watching Silverlake Life, I thought that this movie would be pretty interesting because the teacher said that this video would be graphic, so I thought this movie would provide the harsh realities of one dealing with the AIDS disease. I didn’t know that while watching the movie however, that I would get emotionally attached to these people. First I want to say that I do not care if two gay people are in love and show it in public. While watching the movie, I liked seeing the realism of their love and how they were completely devoted to each other. I was very sad to see how Tom was slowly dying and suffering from his pain. I was sad to see his transformation from him smiling, being happy, to his horrible and saddening death. When I saw the part when Mark found Tom dead wit his eyes opened, it broke my heart so bad and I was emotionally touched. I was so crushed to remember the clip right before he died when Mark asked him how he was feeling and Tom would reply something like “not good,” or “I am in pain” and then the transition to him being dead. I can’t believe how skinny Tom got and to me, even though this is not a good thought to have, his condition at death reminded me of how the prisoners in the holocaust looked when they were skin and bones when their bodies were found. You could see almost all his bones in his body in good detail, especially his hip bone. I am very happy to have watched that video because even today I am still thinking about it and wish AIDS never existed so that no one would have to suffer.
Common threads was another good video because it showed the lives of other people who had this disease and had their love ones recalling memories, good and bad ones, and how they coped with it. I found the AIDS memorial to be an excellent idea because it gives a physical visual of actually how many people have died from this disease. As people died, the Quilt gradually expanded, and was located in a big open field which it expanded to 14 acres around the time the video came out in 1989. I am really have to watched these videos because it gave me a first time view of how it would be like to live with the disease, how to cope with it, how much they suffered and how much their love ones suffered as well.
Did you know?........
In a recent study done by Chicago State University researchers, one- third of Illinois inmates were found to be getting tattoos (The Body, 2009). From data collected from 526 women and 1,293 inmates, 29 percent of males got a tattoo while behind bars (The Body, 2009). However, women were recorded in having more sexual intercourse than man at 19 percent (The Body, 2009). Since condoms and clean needles are not being instilled in these prisons, it is leading to more risky behavior among incarcerated persons (The Body, 2009).
The Body. (May 18, 2009). Retrieved October 7, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art51793.html
Common threads was another good video because it showed the lives of other people who had this disease and had their love ones recalling memories, good and bad ones, and how they coped with it. I found the AIDS memorial to be an excellent idea because it gives a physical visual of actually how many people have died from this disease. As people died, the Quilt gradually expanded, and was located in a big open field which it expanded to 14 acres around the time the video came out in 1989. I am really have to watched these videos because it gave me a first time view of how it would be like to live with the disease, how to cope with it, how much they suffered and how much their love ones suffered as well.
Did you know?........
In a recent study done by Chicago State University researchers, one- third of Illinois inmates were found to be getting tattoos (The Body, 2009). From data collected from 526 women and 1,293 inmates, 29 percent of males got a tattoo while behind bars (The Body, 2009). However, women were recorded in having more sexual intercourse than man at 19 percent (The Body, 2009). Since condoms and clean needles are not being instilled in these prisons, it is leading to more risky behavior among incarcerated persons (The Body, 2009).
The Body. (May 18, 2009). Retrieved October 7, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art51793.html
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Blog #4
In this is weeks blog, I’d like to discuss about this weeks Question Of The Week question. We were asked how we felt if University of Central Florida adopted a policy that would allow a health professional or student working in the Student Health Dept./Wellness Center to disclose another student's status because of information that was received about a student who was HIV positive was having unprotected sex? My response was that I believe it would be an act of discrimination rather than it being an act of protecting its students because what good would it do to disclose one’s personal health status to the people? However, assuming that it is a male, I do believe that the student should be forced to see a doctor to get an update on how his condition is and perhaps should be expelled because he is purposely putting other students’ health in danger since he knows what his condition is and is being very irresponsible with his behavior as well. This whole process though should be done behind closed doors without anybody who doesn’t need to know. Those girls that he messed around with should be notified about the situation because they may have been infected with the virus and the student should be forced to reveal those names. Nonetheless, if I was in his shoes, I would definitely not be irresponsible enough as to sleep with people knowing that I am HIV positive and perfectly knowing that I may be infecting them in the process. I find it disgusting that someone would do such a thing and that people do do that because they are selfish and only care about their personal needs. Going back to the issue, imagine if word got around that you were HIV positive and when people looked at you they would stare at you, know that you are obviously being talked about, and when you look at certain people or person they would look the other way because they are afraid of your condition. You would have pretty much have no chance in finding any type of romantic relationship with anyone. Also, imagine if they knew as well that you were sleeping with people unprotected. I would not like the person first of all because of what they did but not because they are HIV positive. My question though is “what would revealing his personal issues and health for the safety of everyone else do?” “Would you really want to discriminate this person, which pretty much is what going on, and make everybody scare of him?” You would be ruining his social and psychological life as well as romantic life but in this case I wouldn’t care if you ruined his romantic life because this is what they deserves for doing what they did.
Did you know?....
As I was mentioning in last week’s blog, Sixty-eight of the 88 prisoners who were identified being tested HIV negative upon entering Georgia’s prisons in fall of 2005 but later tested positive, were surveyed. Those interviews were compared to those of HIV-negative inmates. The results found that “The HIV-positive participants were about 13 times as likely as the HIV-negative participants to have been tattooed in jail and about 10 times as likely to have had sex with another man in prison” (The Body, 2006). It was also found that “of the 68 HIV-positive men, 45 reported having sex with another man, and 22 of those men said they had sex with male prison staff members” (The Body, 2006). An additional fact I like to throw in there is that 59% of the positive tested interviewees had received tattoos (The body, 2006). The inmates suggested distributing condoms, using safer tattooing methods and having the provision of HIV/AIDS education as ways to help the HIV virus from spreading and prevent inmates from contracting it.
The Body (April 21, 2006). Retrieved September 30, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art8032.html
Did you know?....
As I was mentioning in last week’s blog, Sixty-eight of the 88 prisoners who were identified being tested HIV negative upon entering Georgia’s prisons in fall of 2005 but later tested positive, were surveyed. Those interviews were compared to those of HIV-negative inmates. The results found that “The HIV-positive participants were about 13 times as likely as the HIV-negative participants to have been tattooed in jail and about 10 times as likely to have had sex with another man in prison” (The Body, 2006). It was also found that “of the 68 HIV-positive men, 45 reported having sex with another man, and 22 of those men said they had sex with male prison staff members” (The Body, 2006). An additional fact I like to throw in there is that 59% of the positive tested interviewees had received tattoos (The body, 2006). The inmates suggested distributing condoms, using safer tattooing methods and having the provision of HIV/AIDS education as ways to help the HIV virus from spreading and prevent inmates from contracting it.
The Body (April 21, 2006). Retrieved September 30, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art8032.html
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Weekly Blog #3
In my third blog I’d like to reflect on some of the stuff that we have done in this class. This past week, we had to submit Module 2 and I must say it was a lot of work. There was a lot of information in that module that related to genetics and biology, which were two classes I really disliked taking so it brought back painful memories! So far I have been reading the book “What looks like an ordinary day” and I have to say that is quite humorous to hear the character curse in the way that she does because I’ve never read a book that had this many curse words. However, I really like the cursing because it shows the authenticity in the feeling and emotions behind the character. So far from what I’ve read, the book talks about a African American woman who doesn’t say who her name is, finds out that she is HIV positive but becomes stigmatized at her hair solon when someone exposed her illness. She decides to move back to Idlwild which is where she used to live because of all the stigmatization. The book has been very interesting to read by seeing how one person can go through so many struggles just because they are infected with HIV. Honestly, if I would have done the same thing if word got out that I had HIV because I know people would start seeing me differently and jobs would probably be to afraid to hire me because of my disease. There is a part in the book where I didn’t like what she did because I think the way she did it was very foolish. She sent out letters to the men she had sexual encounters in the past in attempt, in my point of view, to get revenge on which ever partner transmitted her the disease. Somewhere in the letter she wrote something like I think it’s time for you to get tested for HIV. I think that was foolish because a lot of those men probably have a girlfriend and imagine if you found a letter like that coming from your partner’s ex or a person they had a hook up with. The fact is that, the author doesn’t explain this; the man she was messing around with could have been single at the time that he gave her the disease and had no idea that he carried HIV in the first place had given it to her. This man could have been innocent in his unawareness of carrying the disease which doesn’t make it his fault that she was infected with it. With that letter, she pretty much said you might have HIV since I have it and since we messed around before in an indirect, uncaring way. She didn’t care if this ruined the love life of the guys she wrote the letters to. I look very forward though to continue reading this book and to see what happens with her daily life and her life period.
Did you know?.....
”About 91% of HIV-positive men incarcerated in Georgia's prisons last fall were living with the virus before they were imprisoned” (The Body, 2008). In the Georgia Department of Corrections in October 2005, 44,900 male inmates were being held in 73 facilities. There were eight hundred and fifty six of the inmates that were tested positive for HIV and out of those 780 of them already were HIV positive upon entering the prison. Sixty-eight of the 88 prisoners who were tested HIV negative upon entering the prison but later tested positive were surveyed. Their interviews were compared with those of HIV-negative inmates. The reults will be posted on next weeks bog so stay posted………
Did you know?.....
”About 91% of HIV-positive men incarcerated in Georgia's prisons last fall were living with the virus before they were imprisoned” (The Body, 2008). In the Georgia Department of Corrections in October 2005, 44,900 male inmates were being held in 73 facilities. There were eight hundred and fifty six of the inmates that were tested positive for HIV and out of those 780 of them already were HIV positive upon entering the prison. Sixty-eight of the 88 prisoners who were tested HIV negative upon entering the prison but later tested positive were surveyed. Their interviews were compared with those of HIV-negative inmates. The reults will be posted on next weeks bog so stay posted………
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Week #2
In this week’s blog, I want to discuss three things that have happened within the course that I’ve experienced or should I say we all have experienced. This past Friday we had to submit Module 1 and I must say that it was very lengthy and a lot of work had to be put in but in the end it wasn’t that bad. While doing that assignment I learned a few things that I never knew before. Zimbabwe’s prevalence for HIV/AIDS for females between the ages 15-24 is 7.7% and males of the same age group is at 2.9% (Epidemiological, 2008). Other countries that I looked up for their prevalence as well such as Sierra Leon, Lebanon, and Rwanda only had percentages between 0.1 and 1.3 (Epidemiological, 2008). This means Zimbabwe is much more highly prevalent for females and males between the ages of 15-24 to contract HIV/AIDS than the other countries. I also learned that Florida in June had counted 116,250 people with AIDS cases and that it would take another 14 years for that number to exceed 200,000. This means that in each year from now until the year 2023, 5999 people will get AIDS just in the state of Florida alone! When I looked at the “world clock” that showed the number of people living with HIV are the world at the moment in time which was on 9/11/09, it read 34,566,739. As of right now on September, 15 as I am writing this blog it reads 34,554, 719. It says that in every 16 seconds someone dies from AIDS and in every 12 seconds another person contract HIV. I’m not sure what the “world clock” numbers are supposed to mean if the numbers four days ago are more than what they are currently when the numbers now are increasing again. My interpretation of it is perhaps it is showing that the numbers are fluctuating between people who progressed from HIV to aids that died and those who are newly catching HIV. In other words, people are constantly dying from AIDS and at the same time people are contracting HIV like a never ending cycle.
Did You Know?.......
Did you know that "through the end of 2006, 5,977 inmates had been diagnosed with AIDS, an increase from 5,620 in 2005" (The Body, 2008). The second thing I want to discuss is that I began researching on a topic that we probably won’t cover in class. I began to research on HIV/AIDS in prison on how many of the inmates have it, how many contract it within the years and other topics. I learned that the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that in prisons “confirmed AIDS cases represented about one-quarter of the inmates known to be HIV-infected” (The Body, 2008). Within the weekly blogs throughout the semester I will be giving a little bit of facts about my research and what I have discovered.
The third thing I would like to discuss is that I have found an organization that helped HIV positive patients in North Carolina in 2003. AIDS service organization “AIDS Care Service,” is trying to help persuade HIV positive Hispanics in North Carolina to seek treatment at the Infectious Disease Specialty Clinic at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. This help is based on that Hispanics HIV positive cases have rose in the past five years (The Body, 2003). On a side note, currently stationed in North Carolina, the AIDS Care Service has different programs in which they are helping people infected with HIV/AIDS. They have two programs that help people who are HIV positive and they are the housing and food pantry program. The housing program “helps people living with HIV find decent, affordable, long-term housing” and “ACS operates four emergency shelter apartments for HIV+ people who need shelter immediately” (AIDS, 2006). The Food Pantry program “gives groceries to HIV+ individuals and their families. It currently serves more than 200 people every month” (AIDS, 2006). The program has “distributed enough food in the last year to serve 40,728 nutritious meals” (AIDS, 2006) and “an average 125 clients plus their families receive free groceries each month” (AIDS, 2006). It is nice to see that people who have disease are not just seen as a waste of life and outcasted. It’s good to see organizations are still offering help and catering to those in need with diseases and trying to promote an uplifting lifestyle. Everybody deserves to live their life to the fullest with care, love, and affection even if they have a disease.
AIDS Care Service (2006). Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.aidscareservice.org/programs/programs_housing.asp
AIDS Care Service (2006). Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.aidscareservice.org/programs/programs_foodPantry.asp
Epidemiological Fact Sheeton HIV and AIDS, (2008). Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://apps.who.int/globalatlas/predefinedReports/EFS2008/full/EFS2008_ZW.pdf
The Body (June 19, 2008). Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art47204.html
The Body (August, 2003). Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/art12064.html
Did You Know?.......
Did you know that "through the end of 2006, 5,977 inmates had been diagnosed with AIDS, an increase from 5,620 in 2005" (The Body, 2008). The second thing I want to discuss is that I began researching on a topic that we probably won’t cover in class. I began to research on HIV/AIDS in prison on how many of the inmates have it, how many contract it within the years and other topics. I learned that the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that in prisons “confirmed AIDS cases represented about one-quarter of the inmates known to be HIV-infected” (The Body, 2008). Within the weekly blogs throughout the semester I will be giving a little bit of facts about my research and what I have discovered.
The third thing I would like to discuss is that I have found an organization that helped HIV positive patients in North Carolina in 2003. AIDS service organization “AIDS Care Service,” is trying to help persuade HIV positive Hispanics in North Carolina to seek treatment at the Infectious Disease Specialty Clinic at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. This help is based on that Hispanics HIV positive cases have rose in the past five years (The Body, 2003). On a side note, currently stationed in North Carolina, the AIDS Care Service has different programs in which they are helping people infected with HIV/AIDS. They have two programs that help people who are HIV positive and they are the housing and food pantry program. The housing program “helps people living with HIV find decent, affordable, long-term housing” and “ACS operates four emergency shelter apartments for HIV+ people who need shelter immediately” (AIDS, 2006). The Food Pantry program “gives groceries to HIV+ individuals and their families. It currently serves more than 200 people every month” (AIDS, 2006). The program has “distributed enough food in the last year to serve 40,728 nutritious meals” (AIDS, 2006) and “an average 125 clients plus their families receive free groceries each month” (AIDS, 2006). It is nice to see that people who have disease are not just seen as a waste of life and outcasted. It’s good to see organizations are still offering help and catering to those in need with diseases and trying to promote an uplifting lifestyle. Everybody deserves to live their life to the fullest with care, love, and affection even if they have a disease.
AIDS Care Service (2006). Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.aidscareservice.org/programs/programs_housing.asp
AIDS Care Service (2006). Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.aidscareservice.org/programs/programs_foodPantry.asp
Epidemiological Fact Sheeton HIV and AIDS, (2008). Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://apps.who.int/globalatlas/predefinedReports/EFS2008/full/EFS2008_ZW.pdf
The Body (June 19, 2008). Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art47204.html
The Body (August, 2003). Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.thebody.com/content/art12064.html
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Week 1
Hello my name is David and I am a fifth year senior. Prior to coming to UCF, I attended the University of Florida for two years. This is my first year at UCF and so far I can say I like it because the school looks so modern and is very spacious. I picked up this class because I didn’t know too much about HIV/aids and I had to pick an elective so I thought it would be a good idea to pick an elective class that I would enjoy learning and be interested in. For my first assignments in the class we had to conduct simulations on two illnesses that can be found in HIV that are very serious to one’s health. The illnesses that we had to simulate were having PCP and Thrush. When I saw we had to simulate having PCP I thought to myself “that’s a drug, what does that have to do with HIV,” but when I looked it up I found out that it wasn’t. PCP stood for Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia not Phencyclidine, which is what the drug PCP stands for. So when we had the three choices to choose from to simulate this illness, in which I chose to sprint, I then understood why sprinting could simulate the feeling of having PCP. PCP is a fungal infection found in the lungs that make you feel short of breath, have rapid breathing and shortness of breath among other symptoms. After you sprint for a long distance you are going to feel those symptoms that so I kind of thought to myself after I stopped sprinting “man, this is what people with PCP feel like sometimes. This is crazy.” It was a good simulation because this is probably about the closest I would feel to having this illness without actually having it. I learned that it is important to watch who you have sexual relations with, to always wash your hands, and patch up your open cuts because HIV can be contracted by simply touching someone else’s cut with your cut, putting their blood in your system or even accidently putting their saliva in your system as well by means of ingesting it or touching an open wound.
The other simulation we had to conduct was having the illness of thrush. I had absolutely no idea what it was so I was eager to find out what it was. Upon finding out that it is a yeast infection that is found in the mouth specifically the roof of the mouth, gums and back of the throat, I thought that is very disgusting because it is supposed to look like cottage cheese and I hate cottage cheese! To conduct the simulation we had to stick two cotton balls in our mouth on both sides of our cheeks and eat a cracker following by swallowing water. I must say, this is my first time sticking cotton balls in my mouth and I can say that I didn’t like the experience. The cotton balls were too fuzzy and when I was chewing on the cracker, I was also chewing on the fuzz from the cotton ball. I couldn’t enjoy eating the cracker and worse of all I was trying to swallow the cracker without swallowing the cotton balls with it! I was able to swallow a tiny piece of cracker but the rest I couldn’t so I spat it out. Along with the first simulation, I learned that this simulation was affective in showing me how it would feel like to have thrush. Like it feels to have thrush, it was difficult to chew on the cracker because those cotton balls were like bumps in my mouth that wouldn’t allow me to chew properly because they were in the way. Having HIV/aids is an extremely serious disease which is why it is widely talked about and taught in preventive measures because the illnesses that can come along with it can also kill you or make you even more ill making the process of fighting this disease so much more difficult and to recover.
I like these simulations because I feel this is the best way to experience illnesses without actually having them and I learn best doing it this way.
The other simulation we had to conduct was having the illness of thrush. I had absolutely no idea what it was so I was eager to find out what it was. Upon finding out that it is a yeast infection that is found in the mouth specifically the roof of the mouth, gums and back of the throat, I thought that is very disgusting because it is supposed to look like cottage cheese and I hate cottage cheese! To conduct the simulation we had to stick two cotton balls in our mouth on both sides of our cheeks and eat a cracker following by swallowing water. I must say, this is my first time sticking cotton balls in my mouth and I can say that I didn’t like the experience. The cotton balls were too fuzzy and when I was chewing on the cracker, I was also chewing on the fuzz from the cotton ball. I couldn’t enjoy eating the cracker and worse of all I was trying to swallow the cracker without swallowing the cotton balls with it! I was able to swallow a tiny piece of cracker but the rest I couldn’t so I spat it out. Along with the first simulation, I learned that this simulation was affective in showing me how it would feel like to have thrush. Like it feels to have thrush, it was difficult to chew on the cracker because those cotton balls were like bumps in my mouth that wouldn’t allow me to chew properly because they were in the way. Having HIV/aids is an extremely serious disease which is why it is widely talked about and taught in preventive measures because the illnesses that can come along with it can also kill you or make you even more ill making the process of fighting this disease so much more difficult and to recover.
I like these simulations because I feel this is the best way to experience illnesses without actually having them and I learn best doing it this way.
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