Drug Treatments for HIV/AIDS

Discussion: Drug Treatments for HIV/AIDS

While HIV/AIDS is still currently incurable, the prognosis for patients with this infectious disease has improved due to advancements in drug treatments. Consider the case of Kristy Aney. Kristy was diagnosed with HIV in 1992 and was told she would survive, at most, 10 more years. Despite unfavorable odds, Kristy is still alive 20 years later. Since her diagnosis, she has witnessed tremendous improvements in HIV/AIDS treatments which have helped patients live longer with fewer side effects. While she acknowledges that these drug treatments have kept her alive, she fears that improvements in drug therapy have led to more people becoming complacent about the disease (Idaho Statesmen, 2012). In fact, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States is higher than it has ever been (CDC, 2012). This poses the question: Is there a relationship between drug advancements, societal complacency, and infection?

To prepare:

· Review Chapter 49 of the Arcangelo and Peterson text, as well as the Montaner et al (2014) articles in the Learning Resources.

· Reflect on whether or not the prevalence of HIV cases might be attributed to increased complacency due to more advanced drug treatment options for HIV/AIDS.

· Consider how health care professionals can help to change perceptions and make people more aware of the realities of the disease.

· Think about strategies to educate HIV positive patients on medication adherence, as well as safe practices to reduce the risk of infecting others.

With these thoughts in mind:

Write

· An explanation of whether or not you think the prevalence of HIV cases might be attributed to increased complacency due to more advanced drug treatment options.

· Then, explain how health care professionals can help to change perceptions and increase awareness of the realities of the disease.

· Finally, describe strategies to educate HIV positive patients on medication adherence, as well as safe practices to reduce the risk of infecting others.

Points to follow when writing a paper:

· Please all bullets points, bold, red and highlighted area must be attended to.

· A clear purpose statement (The purpose of this paper is to...) is required in the introduction of all writings.

· Please review all rubrics.

· Check APA format/setting.

· Your final paragraph should be a summary of the key points of your paper.

· Please personalized where necessary.

Refrain from direct quote

Therefore, for all assignments including application papers and discussion posts you are required to cite scholarly resources including peer-review journals and current practice guidelines.  

For instance, one source for current practice guidelines can be found at 

https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/clinicians-providers/guidelines-recommendations/index.html  

Rules for writing (FYI)

Whether writing a discussion posting or a paper, keep a few things in mind—

1) I am looking for an explanation at the cellular or molecular level (whenever possible).

2) I am not looking for pathophysiological explanations that we would give to patients (e.g. “your heart just isn’t pumping the right way). While this explanation is acceptable for patient teaching, it will not cut it in a course titled “advanced pathophysiology.” To be very specific- I am looking for you to tell me the precise aberrancies (or theorized aberrancies) which inexorably lead to disease states. Thanks.