Mpaniag1 Week 4

Purpose

The purpose of this week's lab is to become well informed about the myths that surround HIV and how those myths are not an accurate portrayal of why the disease continues to spread.

Myth 1

• Myth 1 is that the disease, AIDS, is for the most part, a problem for African people.

Response

• Africa is not responsible for AIDs, the disease spreads as a result of their socioeconomic state, which has been caused by the colonialism of others
• AIDs is not only an African problem, because the disease is progressing in other countries, it is a global problem that requires a worldwide response
• Structural Adjustment Programs caused the lack of accessible healthcare, driving the spread of AIDS
• There are correlations between the where the AIDs crisis and what countries have unpayable debts
• Those who are susceptible to the disease include those in poverty, war, and inequality; increased migration/movement from country to country also heightens the spread of the disease
• Eastern Europe and Central Asia are now experiencing the fast spread of AIDs, budget cuts have caused these parts of the world to not have the resources needed to tackle this epidemic
• Though the percentage of people with AIDs in Asia and the Pacific is lower than Africa, because of their large population it still means many have been infected. Asia is the second in regions with the most amount of people living with AIDs
• The Caribbean and Latin America are showing a spread of disease, but for instance, Brazil, because its leaders chose to respond urgently to the crisis has lower numbers of people affected than expected
• In the US, we have treatment options, however, those who do not have access to good healthcare may go without knowing they have HIV and develop AIDs
• No group is the single cause of AIDs, and therefore no single group can fix the problem, it needs to be a group effort

(Irwin, Millen, & Fallows, 2003)

Myth 2

• Myth-To stop the spread of HIV, society needs to give up drugs, unrestrained sex, and any other behaviors that are not considered traditionally safe. The only reason the disease continues to spread is that people will not change how they live their life.

Response

• It is important to look at the other factors, that would cause a person to place themselves at risk, such as financial insecurity, war, racial/gender inequality. Focus on empowerment and social justice when asking how to stop AIDs
• Poverty puts people at risk because they have limited options, putting them in situations where they are at higher risk
• Lack of education and the access to it forces people to work jobs that put them at risk
• BCLA leaders called for urgency when discussing and stopping the spread of AIDs in African American Communities, civil rights issue
• 83 percent of new cases have been found in people of color, New York City
• Women are limited in their decisions, especially in the realm of sex
• Women fear sexual abuse from their partners, domestic violence and AIDs are connected problems
• When men are away from their spouse from long periods of time due to work they tend to find comfort in many other sexual partners
• War adds to HIV epidemic because the loss of order creates a world of no healthcare, no education
• The way to work towards AIDs prevention is to address the social issues that allow for the disease to spread
• It is important to remember not everyone has a choice in the lifestyle they lead

(Irwin, Millen, & Fallows, 2003)

Conclusion

In conclusion, HIV is surrounded by many myths that are not telling the entirety of the truth. The myths that I reviewed blame the spread of HIV on a certain people or certain lifestyles, but the author of the book presents responses that allow the readers to go beyond the myth and find the core issues that allow HIV to proliferate.

Refined Research Question-Week 3

Does the region of env affect how the immune system responds to HIV?

Acknowledgments

• I worked with Madeleine B. King, my homework partner, on discussing how to format the journal and clarification on directions/expectations for this journal
• I copied the citation for the paper for the Week 4 assignment page
• I copied and modified the protocol for Week 4 assignment
• I copied the citations for the shared reading journal from the Week 4 assignment page
• Except for what is noted above, this individual journal entry was completed by me and not copied from another source.

Mpaniag1 (talk) 12:37, 12 February 2020 (PST)

References

• Aspinall, P. J. (2005). The operationalization of race and ethnicity concepts in medical classification systems: issues of validity and utility. Health Informatics Journal, 11(4), 259-274. DOI: 10.1177/1460458205055688
• Bodenreider, O., & Stevens, R. (2006). Bio-ontologies: current trends and future directions. Briefings in bioinformatics, 7(3), 256-274. DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbl027
• Irwin, A., Millen, J., & Fallows, D. (2003). Global Aids: myths and facts: tools for fighting the Aids pandemic. Cambridge (Mass.): South End Press.
• Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism. NYU Press, Chapter 5: The Future of Knowledge in the Public, LMU eBook
• OpenWetWare. (2020). BIOL368/S20:Week 4. Retrieved Feburary 7, 2020, from https://openwetware.org/wiki/BIOL368/S20:Week_4

Classwork

• Link to User Page-mpaniag1
• Link to Template-Template

Assignments

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 8
• Week 9
• Week 10
• Week 13
• Week 14

Journals

• mpaniag1 Week 2
• mpaniag1 Week 3
• mpaniag1 Week 4
• mpaniag1 Week 5
• mpaniag1 Week 6
• mpaniag1 Week 7
• mpaniag1 Week 8
• mpaniag1 Week 9
• mpaniag1 Week 10
• mpaniag1 Week 11
• mpaniag1 Week 13
• mpaniag1 Week 14

Class Journals

• Class Journal Week 1
• Class Journal Week 2
• Class Journal Week 3
• Class Journal Week 4
• Class Journal Week 5
• Class Journal Week 6
• Class Journal Week 10
• Class Journal Week 11
• Class Journal Week 13
• Class Journal Week 14