CAPSTONE (This is a REWRITE) (Behavior and Perceptions to High HIV rate among African Americans) 7 PAGES

Title: Behavior and Perceptions to High HIV rate among African Americans

Prospectus: HIV/AIDS in the African American Community

Problem Statement

African Americans have accounted for a significant portion of the HIV diagnoses and people living with HIV in comparison to other ethnic groups within the United States. In the year 2018, the African American population accounted for approximately 13% of the United States population, but they also accounted for about 42% of the 37832 new HIV diagnoses within the United States as well as other dependent locations. The research tends to assert that African Americans continue to experience a significant burden of HIV/AIDS when compared to the other ethnic groups within the United States. Additionally, the researches asserted that the African American gay community, bisexual as well as other groups like African American females that’s involved having sex with other men, tend to be the most affected groups by HIV compared to other related groups within the United States. For example, in the year 2017, African American men from gay and bisexual groups accounted for approximately 26% of the total cases of new HIV diagnoses.

Gender, age, risky sexual behaviour, marital and social economic status play a major role will be measured. The CDC asserts that most of the African American women who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS tend to live in locations that have high rates of poverty, which in turn contributes to the undermining of their capacity to seek health care services which are related to the HIV.

These confirm that despite the significant advancement in knowledge provision regarding the HIV virus transmission as well as the treatment that may be in a position to limit the viral load and be able to extend life among individuals with HIV, but, have been provided a deaf ear among the African American community, hence reflecting significant amount population suffering from HIV/AIDS("HIV and African Americans," 2020 The big association is that African American gay men and African American women are two categories that contribute to the elevated number of HIV/A.I.D.S cases. Examples of results would include that African American men numbers are higher than other ethnic gay men. You will also see the results that African American women numbers are higher than any other ethnic groups. You will also see that socioeconomic status plays an important role as well.

Purpose

           The main purpose of the research study is to utilize the qualitative research approach to try and develop an understanding of why there are high HIV/AIDS cases among the African American Community. This research is essential because it also focuses on the various activities as well as strategies that have been established to ensure the rate of new infections reduces. However, previous pieces of research have also provided evidence that despite the significant approaches the United States government has established to ensure reduced new HIV diagnoses, the infection rate among the African American community continues to increase, especially on gay and bisexual groups that often involve men to men sex. Also with African American women living in poverty not having access to proper healthcare, and also can’t get the proper education. Thus, through conduction of an investigation on the issue of increased HIV infection rate among the African American community may be able to provide quality understanding on the main cause of this significant infections as well as be able to provide recommendations on how various approaches may be developed to reduce the infection rate within this community("HIV/AIDS and African Americans - The Office of Minority Health," 2018). Additionally, significant rates of HIV/AIDS among the African American gay men tends to be contributed by different components such as having limited concern around HIV related issues. This tends to be quite common among the younger generation of the African American gay men, who tend to view HIV as a malady that often occurs to other individuals and it may be easily resolved through the use of medications. Stigma has also contributed significantly on the spread of HIV among the African Americans, thus, based on the high HIV rates among the African American Community, the main purpose of the research will be to understand the cause of the spread and develop effective knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS to encourage a reduction in mortality and morbidity among the African Americans. Evidence shows that socioeconomic status, age, ethnicity and gender plays a major role.

Significance

HIV is regarded to be a significant medical issue on public health as well as a troubling burden among the African American community. Previous pieces of research have provided evidence that the rate at which the African American individuals contract HIV tends to be higher compared to other ethnic groups and whites within the United States. However, despite the African American population making a fraction of the United States population, the community tends to record more than 50% of the new HIV diagnoses. It is estimated that about 50,000 new HIV cases occur every year and about 12% of the people are not aware they have contracted HIV(Laurencin CT , et al., 2018). Thus, it is essential to provide effort, time as well as establish educational programs which provide knowledge on the various approaches to limit the spread of HIV through promoting awareness on how to use condoms, the risk of sharing items such as needles and other factors that may contribute to raising awareness as well as molding individual perception to reduce the risky behavior that influences the spread of HIV. Additionally, information attained from previous pieces of research indicates that an approximate of more than 65% of young adults from the African American community aged between 18 and 24 did not utilize condoms regularly when they were engaging in sexual activities and this increases their risk of contracting HIV. Moreover, the researchers also indicated that individuals between the age of 18 and 20 have never utilized condoms during their sexual encounters. The various evidence developed has enabled the African American community to have significant rates of HIV infections in comparison to other ethnic communities in the United States. 

Background

1. Arya (2010); HIV was obscure, and transmission was not joined by perceptible signs, symptoms, or side effects. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is mainly described as an infection that is majorly spread via various liquids of the human body and it destroys the immune system, specifically, the CD4 cells also known as the T cells.

2. Gilbert & Goddard, (2007); also argue that despite the development of awareness campaigns, and educational programs the African American community continues to have the highest rates of new HIV diagnoses.

3. O’Leary(2010); further add that in the United States, HIV/Aids is regarded to be a significant medical issue, leading to the establishment of diverse knowledge on ways to reduce the spread of this ailment.

4. Paxton (2013); HIV tends to destroy numerous CD4/ T cells which in turn they cause the human body to be unable to fight any form of infection or disease. After significant destruction of the special cells, the human body becomes quite vulnerable to diseases. In addition, the CDC,

5. Quickstats (2009); asserts that the sickness has significantly contributed to numerous deaths across the United States as well as there is still a significant population living with HIV/ AIDS

Conceptual Framework

Through the theoretical framework, the research will provide answers as to why, despite the utilization of the awareness campaigns as well as educational programs, the new HIV diagnoses rates among the African Americans continue to increase hence, becoming a significant burden within the community. For instance, African Americans have accounted for a significant proportion of the HIV diagnoses and people living with HIV in comparison to other ethnic groups within the United States. In the year 2018, the African American population accounted for approximately 13% of the United States population, but they also accounted for about 42% of the 37832 new HIV diagnoses within the United States as well as other dependent locations. Thus, the research study focuses on developing an understanding of why there are high HIV/AIDS cases among the African American Community despite the continued awareness and education on approaches to reduce risky behaviors that influence the spread of HIV(O’Leary et al., 2010). This identifies the need for a research study to be in a position to understand the main cause of the high rate of new HIV diagnoses as well as a significant population of people living with HIV despite numerous approaches being developed to reduce the spread of this virus.

Research Question(s) and Hypotheses (if applicable)

To be in a position to effectively develop a precise understanding of the reason the rate of HIV among the African American community is high the research will be focusing on answering two major research questions. 

1. Does ignorance behavior among African Americans contribute to the significant rates of HIV infection within the members of this community?

2. How has the African American’s perception of HIV and AIDS contributed to the increased cases of HIV among the African American community? 

A hypothetical approach to the relation of the African American community and there high rate of HIV cases among the African Americans it may be linked to ignorance. For instance, the significant rates of HIV/AIDS among African American gay men tend to be contributed by different components such as having limited concern around HIV related issues. This tends to be quite common among the younger generation of the African American gay men, who tend to view HIV as a malady that often occurs to other individuals and it may be easily resolved through the use of medications. This signifies that individuals from the African American community are ignorant of heeding the various educational instructions provided to them by health organizations and the United States government on ways to limit the risky behaviors that influence the spread of HIV and AIDS.

Nature of the Study

To be in a position to attain effective results from the research study, the utilization of structured and semi-structured questionnaires, as well as physical interviews, will enable the researcher to be in a position to gather a significant amount of data from the community in focus. Thus, through the utilization of the qualitative research approach the research will allow the subjects to be in a position to demonstrate their perception regarding HIV and AIDS, as well as the various strategies that they think, may contribute to reducing the infectious rate of HIV among the members of this community. 

Possible Types and Sources of Data

Sources of data are quite essential in any research because they tend to determine if the information provided in the research study is valid or not. There are various forms and sources of data such as secondary data; type of data which is retrieved from the internet and the primary data source; a form of data that is retrieved from books. The source of data that will be utilized in the study is the secondary source. This source of information will enable the researcher to be in a position to utilize information from previous pieces of research on the same topic Hence providing him or her with an in-depth understanding of the research. Also, information from government sites will be beneficial to the research as it will provide statistical evidence of the hypothetical framework of the topic in focus.

Limitations, Challenges, and/or Barriers

A significant limitation that may be experienced when conducting the research study is the limited subject population. Not everyone may agree to participate in research and those who may agree may not effectively qualify for the representation of the entire African American community, hence creating limitations for the study. On the other hand, several challenges may be experienced when conducting the research study, one of the challenges that may be experienced during research conduction is the inability to attain accurate data. Due to the negative perception, the African American community has regarding the issue of HIV and AIDS they may be forced to provide accurate data during the interviews and in turn affecting the results of the research. 

References