Introduction
HIV, which is human immunodeficiency virus, is a burden for contemporary society and a challenge for healthcare. It has a negative impact on human immune system and weakens it by ruining the cells that fight disease and infection (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017a). At present, there is no treatment that has a proved efficiency against HIV. Still, there are opportunities for its prevention and, in case a person is infected, the disease can be successfully controlled with proper medical care. The issue of HIV is of interest because it is one of the chronic diseases with high probability of lethal outcome, which can be successfully prevented in case suitable prevention interventions are developed and applied throughout the country. Thus, this paper studies morbidity and mortality of HIV, its impact on the national health, goals and objectives for HIV presented by Healthy People 2020, and provides a questionnaire to collect information from a HIV patient for further development of care plan.
Morbidity and Comorbidity of HIV
Despite active efforts to prevent the spread of HIV in the United States, it still remains a serious health problem. The most vulnerable population groups are gay and bisexual men, who are at the highest risk of being infected. Thus, although overall HIV incidence declined in the recent years, annual HIV infections did not decrease significantly among gay and bisexual men (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017b). For example, in 2014, there were 1,100 HIV infections revealed among the people who inject drugs and 8,600 cases of HIV among heterosexuals compared to 26,200 infections among gay and bisexual men, which makes 70% of all infections registered during the year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017b). In 2015, 6,465 people died from HIV and AIDS, and their death rate per 100,000 is 2.0 (National Center for Health Statistics, 2017).
There are some diseases and conditions that are considered comorbid to HIV. Thus, individuals diagnosed with HIV should be screened for other sexually transmitted diseases due to high incidence of STDs among HIV-infected patients. Also, HIV-infected individuals prove significantly higher comorbidity rates for cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, osteoporosis and fractures. Moreover, such conditions as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and endocrine disease are frequent among HIV patients.
Impact of HIV
HIV infection has a serious negative impact both on life of patients and health of nation as a whole. As for every person, there appears a problem of living with HIV, which implies deterioration of the quality of life. Individuals diagnosed with HIV face the problems of stigma and discrimination, which frequently result in mental health complications. Also, individuals with HIV may have troubles in family planning, disclosing to other people, protecting the others, and accepting the diagnosis. Moreover, HIV-infected have a number of comorbid conditions, which make their life and treatment more complicated. Finally, HIV patients need antiretroviral therapy, and thus have to find a healthcare facility able to provide the necessary treatment. Health of nation as a whole is also suffering. First of all, HIV affects young people of reproductive age, thus threatening overall birth rates. Also, antiretroviral therapy cannot be provided at all facilities throughout the country, which leads to mortality of HIV patients. After all, comorbid diseases that are more frequent among individuals with HIV negatively influence overall health of nation.
Healthy People 2020 Goals and Objectives for HIV
Healthy People 2020 initiative pays particular attention to the issue of HIV. Thus, its goal is to “prevent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and related illnesses and death” (“HIV,” 2018, para. 1). The core objectives include the reduction of new HIV infections, increase in HIV testing and prevention of HIV risk, and increase of access to care and improvement of health outcomes for people living with HIV. These objectives comprise smaller goals such as reduction of new HIV diagnosis on the whole and certain populations in particular, the reduction of proportion of individuals with stage 3 of HIV (AIDS), increase in serostatus awareness, improve the percentage of people who have access to medical care, etc. O the whole, the suggested interventions are likely to have a positive impact because the statistics demonstrates a decrease in new HIV patients in the majority of vulnerable populations.
Questionnaire
- What is your name? How old are you?
- Do you have a family?
- When were you diagnosed with HIV?
- Who initiated the test?
- Did you have any disturbing symptoms that made you visit a doctor and take a test?
- Were you screened for other sexually transmitted diseases?
- Do you know the way you were infected?
- Did you inform your partner you were infected?
- Does your partner have HIV or AIDS?
- Did you share your diagnosis with your family?
- Did your life change significantly after the diagnosis?
- Did you experience any discrimination?
- Where do you find support?
- Are you currently taking antiretroviral therapy? If yes, are you going to continue treatment?
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017a). HIV basics. Web.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017b). HIV incidence: Estimated annual infections in the U.S., 2008-2014. Web.
HIV. (2018). Web.
National Center for Health Statistics. (2017). AIDS and HIV. Web.