HIV Prevention Plan Targeted to African American Urban Culture - Essay Sample

Introduction

The HIV prevention plan is targeted to African American culture for heterosexuals, homosexuals, IV drug users, infants/children, and adolescents. The distinct characteristic of the stated culture is that most of them prefer to have an urban lifestyle. The lifestyle has aspects such as an elevated indulgence in clubbing, alcohol and drug abuse, and rampant sexual conducts, which are all high-risk factors for HIV transmission (Pitpitan & Kalichman, 2016). In addition, a sizeable number of members of the culture are incarcerated in the United States' incarceration institutions, which is also a phenomenon that has placed them at risk of HIV transmission (Harawa & Adimora, 2008).

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Culture Background

The culture has a direct connection to Africa, as their ancestors originated from the continent. Most of the ancestors moved to American as a result of the slave trade. Native and White Americans colonized different parts of Africa and in the process captured and enslaved a sizeable population of Africans as slaves (Tishkoff, et al., 2009). In addition, after the slave trade was abolished in the United States, the African Slaves were offered citizenship and they formed the African American culture. Today, there are millions of African Americans in the nation, but the demographic is still considered a marginalized grouping in American society.

Historical Relationship with Healtthcare and Prevention

A significant proportion of the targeted demographic has a poor relationship with health care and ailments' prevention. Additionally, this is attributed to factors such as poverty due to the high unemployment rate in the African American demographic (Mode, Evans, & Zonderman, 2016). Lack of financial resources has made a large number of the targeted population lack access to quality healthcare institutions (Arya, Behforouz, & Viswanath, 2009). In addition, that is especially because they cannot afford medical insurance covers. Subsequently, this has also contributed to the proliferation of new HIV infection cases among the stated demographic due to the lack of essential healthcare information on HIV prevention and management.

Importance of Implementing a Prevention Program for the Culture

There are several reasons why a prevention program should be implemented for the targeted African American culture. The first reason is to educate the stated demographic on the importance of preventing HIV transmission in their society. The second reason is to help the culture in managing the HIV status of those individuals who are already infected as a strategy to prevent further transmission of the disease. The third reason is to identify the factors that contribute to the prevalence of HIV among the African American population. Subsequently, it will be possible to address such factors using appropriate interventions and as a result, lessen the rate of HIV infection among the African American populations.

Reasons Why It Is an Important Culture to Apply for a Prevention Program

Compared to other racial demographics in the United States, African Americans have among the highest prevalence rates of HIV infection in the nation. The stated phenomenon is propagated by the people's indulgence in unprotected sex and drug abuse, which are measured to be the primary risk factors of HIV transmission. In 2017, African Americans accounted for 13% of the total American population (CDC, 2019). Nevertheless, the stated demographic had 43% representation of all the people living with HIV in the nation (CDC, 2019). The facets of the HIV plan will include the massive training of the African American population on effective measures of HIV prevention.

Training will be important in empowering the African American with the knowledge the use of contraceptive can reduce HIV transmission (Pazol, Zapata, Tregear, Mautone-Smith, & Gavin, 2016). Other aspects of the plan will include the massive testing of the public and issuance of prophylaxis drugs/Prep to prevent new contraction of the HIV virus. Testing will help the members of the African American community to know their HIV status. Subsequently, the population will be in a position to take essential measures to prevent or manage HIV infection. Lastly, the issuance of prophylaxis will be imperative to avert the occurrence of new HIV transmission among the African American population.

Variables to Focus On in the HIV Prevention Plan

There will be two variables that will be considered when enacting the HIV prevention plan. Education is the first variable to take into account when developing the HIV prevention plan. Education level will be imperative in ascertaining the approach to take when educating the targeted population on the effective measures of preventing HIV prevention. For instance, shorter training sessions will be created for educated persons with the background knowledge on contraceptives like Condoms and prophylaxis in HIV prevention. The economic position is the second variable that will be considered. The variable will define the targeted members of the African American population's ability to afford or access different certified HIV prevention contraceptives. For instance, some African Americans will be able to afford to purchase pre-prophylaxis while others will only be able to purchase condoms as contraceptives.

Plan Implementation

To make the HIV prevention plan to be successful, it should be executed in collaboration with the local leaders of the African American community who can be advocates of promoting the HIV prevention plan. Furthermore, to promote the success of the plan, the education variable will be manipulated by creating educational materials with different complexities to fit the understanding of different members of the targeted population. For instance, complex and well-detailed information on HIV may be published on educational pamphlets targeted for educated African Americans at risk of HIV. Contrary, a simple graphical guideline on how to use a condom as a contraceptive may be created for the less educated African American demographic members.

The economic consideration variable will be manipulated by providing different forms of contraceptives to the targeted population segment. For instance, Preps are more expensive than condoms as contraceptives and they can be offered as a preference to middle and upper-class social segments in the African American society. To implement the plan logistically, the plan implementer should visit all the health departments in different states and submit the HIV prevention plan's proposal. Subsequently, the officials and personnel of the health departments would help in implementing the proposed plans in all parts of their respective States. The health departments would be targeted for the plan because they have sufficient financial resource infrastructure to cover all parts of the nation. There are several other similar prevention plans in the nation. However, such plans have not been exhaustively implemented and there is still a need for more effective implementation. Ultimately, the only obstacle expected for in the plan prevention exercise is the health department's refusal to participate in the plan implementation.

References

Arya, M., Behforouz, H. L., & Viswanath, K. (2009). African American Women and HIV/AIDS: A National Call for Targeted Health Communication Strategies to Address a Disparity. The Aids Reader, 19 (2), 79-C3.

CDC. (2019). New HIV Diagnoses Among Blacks/African Americans by Transmission Category and Sex in the US and Dependent Areas, 2017. Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/racialethnic/africanamericans/index.html

Harawa, N., & Adimora, A. (2008). Incarceration, African Americans, and HIV: Advancing a Research Agenda. Journal of the National Medical Association, 100 (1), 57-62.

Mode, N. A., Evans, M. K., & Zonderman, A. B. (2016). Race, Neighborhood Economic Status, Income Inequality and Mortality. PLoS One, 11 (5).

Pazol, K., Zapata, L. B., Tregear, S. J., Mautone-Smith, N., & Gavin, L. E. (2016). Impact of Contraceptive Education on Contraceptive Knowledge and Decision Making; A Systematic Review. American journal of preventive medicine, 49 (201), 46-56.

Pitpitan, E. V., & Kalichman, S. C. (2016). Reducing HIV Risks in the Places where People Drink: Prevention Interventions in Alcohol Venues. Aids and Behavior, 20 (1), 119-113.

Tishkoff, S. A., Reed, F. A., Friedlaender, F. R., Ehret, C., Ranciaro, A., Froment, A., et al. (2009). The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans. Science, 324 (5930), 1035-1044.