400418-Health Promotion and Evaluation

Introduction:

Maintenance of safe sexual health has been listed as a primary concern in relation to the global health and wellness status of the world. On an average, statistical evidences have revealed that more than 36.7 million individuals in the world are affected with AIDS (WHO & UNICEF, 2014). In this context, it has further been stated that 30% of the global population is unaware about their respective HIV status (WHO & UNICEF, 2014). HIV expanded as the human immune deficiency virus is a subcategory of the lentivirus that falls under a retrovirus type and has been reported to cause a fatal autoimmune disorder in human beings (Williams et al., 2013). The virus is said to degrade the natural in-built immunological mechanism of the body and affects the ability of the body to sustain itself against agents that lead to the cause of immunological infections and disorder. AIDS have been attributed to be the one of the most fatal disorders of all times that deteriorates the defense-mechanism of the body completely (Yoshikura, 2015). Numerous factors have been connected with the incidence of the disease but the cause due to indulgence in unprotected sexual intercourse has been listed as the most important

Discussion:

Researchers have stated that in order to conduct an effective systematic review, it is extremely important to include a thorough search strategy. An authentic systematic review is broadly dependent upon an efficient search strategy that makes use of the best screening filters to scrutinize and evaluate the available literary sources. The search strategy that was implied in order to screen relevant literary sources in order to conduct this systematic review was based upon the PRISMA search strategy. The search strategy proceeded with the consideration of inclusion and exclusion characteristics and the incorporation of key words such as sexually transmitted disease, HIV, AIDS, society perception, stigma and community based nursing evidences. The inclusion criteria comprised of factors such as the year of publication that ranged between the time-period of 2013 to 2017.

Another important characteristic comprised of all the available research papers that were published in English language and were about the community based nursing interventions adapted in order to minimize the prevalence of AIDS. The exclusion criteria comprised of papers that were published before 2013 and were published in languages other than English. The exclusion characteristics also excluded the papers that did not comprise of community nursing interventions to promote sexual hygiene and effectively deal with AIDS. A total of 15 papers were filtered from the popular databases PubMed and Google Scholar. Filters such as the date of publication, language and key terms were included in order to derive the most relevant literary journals. The 15 papers that were segregated included certain papers that dealt with other autoimmune disorder and the genetic therapies available for the treatment of such disorders. 

Research studies have revealed that the set of population that is primarily affected with this disorder comprise of members belonging to the homosexual community who indulge in same similar sexual activities (Stangl et al., 2013). Sex workers and teenagers practicing drug abuse also form a major proportion of the affected population. Prison inmates who are isolated from basic health facilities and possess no knowledge about the maintenance of personal hygiene also form a primary set of population affected with the disease type (Shannon et al., 2015). Typically it has been observed that the disease is transmitted from an infected person to a healthy person by means of exchange of contaminated body fluids. The most common transmission of infected body fluids that occur in between an infected person and a healthy individual is the contamination transmitted through blood and body fluids or lubricants that exit the body during indulgence in sexual activities. Teenagers and young individuals who inject drug intravenously often fail to pay attention to the fact that the needles used in the process must be sterilized and cleansed thoroughly (Salam et al., 2014). It has been recommended by the national level of maintenance of safe health and hygiene that the needles should not be used for a second time. The needles must be disposed off immediately after the first use and disposable needles must be used for administering drug intravenously. Therefore added care must be undertaken in order to make sure that the infection through contaminated body fluid is avoided to the maximum. It has also been reported in studies that a huge social stigma is associated with the disease and the manner in which normal individuals including health professionals perceive it. It has been reported that social stigma in the form of discrimination and complete seclusion of the affected individuals have been associated with patients who are affected with HIV or any other form of sexually transmitted infections. The rationale behind the stigmatized approach of the society while dealing with the infected patients is majorly connected to the lack of proper knowledge about the cause and consequence of the disease (Hethcote & Van Ark, 2013). 

Evidences have revealed that in order to bridge the gap and improve the access of health facilities to the patients it is important that a proactive approach is taken up by the community nursing professionals (DiCenso et al., 2014). It should be ensured that the professionals employed at the community level are trained in terms of cultural competency and possess an in depth understanding about the disease and the manner in which it is perceived by the society. Adequate measures such as dispensing correct information and knowledge about the cause of disease and the strategies that could be taken in order to avoid the drastic effect of the disease can be imparted to the members of the community by the trained professionals. Imparting education with the help of informative leaflets and pamphlets and conducting awareness through informative posters and banners can help in spreading awareness at a large scale (Kerrigan et al., 2013). Inclusion of personal counseling sessions to help people who are infected and making them aware about the possible options they have while considering family planning can help in maintaining a healthy perspective towards the victims and also ensuring that the quality of the life is enhanced to sustain in the society in a respectful manner (Charannia et al., 2014). Community nurses must incorporate awareness measures such as organizing health awareness camps and chronic illness camps and train patients affected with AIDS to lead a normal process of life style. 

Conclusion:

Therefore to conclude the findings of the literatures that have been reviewed, it can be said that sexually transmitted diseases are gradually gaining popularity on a global level. The most common victims affected with the disorder belong to the communities that indulge in unprotected sex and improper maintenance of sexual hygiene. A major proportion of the affected individuals have been reported to use infected needles that carry the infectious disease from an infected person to the body of a healthy individual. The alarming rise in the statistical facts and figures suggests that proper control strategies must be adopted in order to control the prevalence of the disease. The research papers have also revealed that the stigmatized approach of the society is also related to deteriorating the disease scenario. Effective awareness schemes and education practices can help in refining the stigmatized approach of the society in the manner in which they perceive HIV positive patients. Efforts must be undertaken by community nursing professionals to educate the common people about the incidence, cause, prevalence, risk factors, diagnosis and the consequence of the disease and the manner in which it affects the normal life style of an individual. 

References:

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DiCenso, A., Guyatt, G., & Ciliska, D. (2014). Evidence-Based Nursing-E-Book: A Guide to Clinical Practice. Elsevier Health Sciences, pp. 240

Hethcote, H. W., & Van Ark, J. W. (2013). Modeling HIV transmission and AIDS in the United States (Vol. 95). Springer Science & Business Media.

Kerrigan, D. L., Fonner, V. A., Stromdahl, S., & Kennedy, C. E. (2013). Community empowerment among female sex workers is an effective HIV prevention intervention: a systematic review of the peer-reviewed evidence from low-and middle-income countries. AIDS and Behavior, 17(6), 1926-1940.

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Stangl, A. L., Lloyd, J. K., Brady, L. M., Holland, C. E., & Baral, S. (2013). A systematic review of interventions to reduce HIV?related stigma and discrimination from 2002 to 2013: how far have we come?. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 16, 18734.

Williams, A. B., Wang, H., Burgess, J., Li, X., & Danvers, K. (2013). Cultural adaptation of an evidence-based nursing intervention to improve medication adherence among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in China. International journal of nursing studies, 50(4), 487-494.

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Yoshikura, H. (2015). Analysis of HIV/AIDS epidemiology in Japan from 1985–2011-infection detection pattern for male homosexuals different from that for male heterosexuals but similar to that for females. Japanese journal of infectious diseases, 68(2), 98-105.