Bittersweetness

I cannot believe it is the end of the semester! This course flew by so fast. On one hand, I am so happy that this semester is over but on the other hand I walk away from this course with somewhat of a heavy heart. I viewed this class as a stepping stone that would bring me closer to my goal of graduating,Teach and Linda had other plans for me, thanfully.

I became so emotionally involved in this class that it was overwhelming at times. When I was watching the movies for our assignment, I was crying through them. I somewhat felt the devastating affects of HIV and AIDS and that was shocking to me. I never thought I would actually feel something emotionally when I was taking this class. I am so glad that I took this course because this is one that will be ingrained in my brain and in my heart years after I have graduated and I cannot say that about most of the classes I have taken. Witnessing first hand the effects of the disease was such a turning point for me.

I could never express fully how this class touched me and how thankful I am for this course. Many colleges do not have anything like this and it is sad. I feel like everyone should be educated in a way that this course offers. It is not just the science of the disease, the statistics and the emotional impact need to be brought to light and this class did that for me more than I could have imagined. Throughout this course I found myself talking to anyone who would listen about the statistics and facts I had learned. I found myself talking to my parents about how more awareness should be fostered with teenagers and middle school students. Whenever I told people I was taking this class, they were shocked that there was actually such a course offered. I wish other colleges had the opportunity that us as UCF students had when taking this class.

Did You Know?
A St.Louis inmate who is HIV positive was denied HIV medication for 17 days. This individual had been treated by his doctor before incarceration. Even though his doctor faxed over his medication and dosage information, the St.Louis inmate was still deprived.

Reference:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_44e09b6a-b7e0-5db2-99e9-b8a882f36059.html

H.I.V Discrimination

In Beijing, a 22 year old man was unable to get a teaching job after he passed all of the necessary tests because he has HIV. He took the local education bureau to court where he lost his case. There is a 4 year old law in China that states "no institution or individual shall discriminate against people living with H.I.V., AIDS patients and their relatives” (Jacobs, 2010). This law was passed in order to protect individuals with HIV from discrimination against them by potential or current employers. Even with this law in order, the judge sided with the education bureau's choice. In China, medicine for HIV and AIDS is accessible but individuals with the disease are shunned and often barred from jobs in universitites, state jobs and private corporations (Jacobs, 2010). It had been reported that the fear of being ostracized kept roughly 740,000 HIV individuals from seeking treatment (Jacobs, 2010). Even with this close minded thinking, apparetnly the Chinese government lifted a ban last year that prevented HIV infected foreigners from entering China (Jacobs, 2010).

This is a horrbile and saddening situation. It is so unethical to keep someone from having a job just because they have HIV. I do not understand how the judge could side with the education bureau when they have a specific law in place against discrimination of people with HIV! Does the law mean nothing at all? What's even more sad is that this man is so youg, he is only 22 and he has no job prospects to pay for his medecine. How can China lift a ban letting foreigners with HIV into their country, but not give their own citizens jobs? I also am shocked at how many people did not receive treatment out of fear. These people would rather let their disease go untreated than face the harsh judgement and stigma that come along with being HIV positive. That is truely sad.

Did You Know?
In Harare, Zimbabwe government officials are finally buckling under pressure to give inmates a sound healthcare delivery system. Program director Dr.Charles Sunday said, "We are currently working towards formulating an HIV and TB policy framework specifically for prisons. We have already set a team of health experts going around prisons to come up with a situational report" (Moyo, 2010). These reports will be used when coming up with a HIV/TB policy (Moyo, 2010). Dr.Sunday also said that due to HIV related illnesses, the mortality rate in prisons are very high (Moyo, 2010).

Reference:

Jacobs, A. (2010, November 12). Chinese law against hiv discrimination fails in court. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/13/world/asia/13china.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Moyo, Y. (2010, November 14). Hiv/tb policy for inmates. Retrieved from http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=35534:hivtb-policy-for-inmates&catid=52&Itemid=32

Fighting HIV through text messages?

I read something today about efforts in Kenya to help those with HIV improve their health. A study done by the University of British Columbia got 538 HIV positive patients between 2007 and 2009 to be in their study (Graber, 2010). Half of the patients would receive weekly text messages and were asked to respond within 48 hours (Graber, 2010). These text messages had nothing to do with reminding them to take their medicine. These messages would simply ask "How are you?". Recipients would respond back that they are doing well or that they are having problems. If there was a problem or no response then a clinician would follow up with the patient. "The ones who received the texts were 12% more likely than the non-recipients to have undetectable levels of the virus a year after being infected" (Graber, 2010). The participants who were text ed said that they felt like someone cared about them which helped them to take better care of themselves. I love that Kenya is using a technology that is so prevalent in today's society. Although I don't know how prevalent cell phones are in Kenya, they are more than a common part of Americans lives. If it worked in Kenya it may be able to work in the U.S. Everyone in the U.S. pretty much has a cell phone and texts, it offers the perfect opportunity to reach out to those with HIV and help them take better care of themselves.

On a side note, since I have been keeping up with it, Vivid Entertainment (a porn production company) will resume filming this week. Vivid, as well as some other production companies stopped filming after an adult star tested positive for HIV. Steve Hirsch the Vivid co-founder stated, "We will, of course, continue to require recent test results for all performers in our movies and will continue to take all necessary precautions to assure their health and safety" (SFVBJ, 2010).

Did You Know?
"Forty-eight states, including the District of Columbia, do not offer pregnant women screening for HIV/AIDS" (Elan, 2010).

References:
Graber, C. (2010, November 10). Text message outreach improves HIV patients outcomes. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=text-message-outreach-improves-hiv-10-11-10


SFVBJ.(2010, November 8). Cameras roll again for vivid films. Retrieved from http://www.sfvbj.com/news/2010/nov/08/cameras-roll-again-vivid-films/

Elan, S. (2010). Shackling pregnant women spurs prison reform push. Retrieved from http://www.womensradio.com/articles/Shackling-Pregnant-Women-Spurs-Prison-Reform-Push/7166.html

Zambia's Fighting Effort

I was pretty suprised to find an article about Zambia putting up an effort to fight HIV. I was suprised because of the way they are going about it. Zambia has come up with a 10 year program to fight HIV through male circumcision (VOA News, 2010). Many people there are opposed to this program because they say there is not enough evidence to support that circumcision make a male more suceptible to HIV (VOA News, 2010). Religious groups are unhappy about the program as well. "But scientists around the globe and leading groups fighting the disease say studies show that circumcised men are less likely to become infected. They say it’s likely that cells in a man’s foreskin are vulnerable to the virus and that susceptibility is reduced, but not eliminated, when the foreskin is removed" (VOA News, 2010). Personally I have never heard of this correlation but it is interesting to hear. It is also very uplifting to see Zambia making a conscious effort to fight HIV.

Reference:
VOA News, . (2010, November 3). Zamibia to fight aids by increasing male circumcision. Retrieved from http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/southern/zambia-AIDS-prevention-circumcision-3Nov10-e2a-106633344.html

Tainted Blood

I found this article with todays date on it (October 25, 2010) but the actual incident happened in 2008 so I'm not sure if this case was just discovered now or it is just now being made public. I am a little confused about that but either way it is horrific. Back in 2008, HIV positive blood was given to a patient who had just received a kidney transplant (Enriquez, 2010). The blood was donated from someone in Missouri and given to the patient in Colorado (Enriquez, 2010). According to the CDC, this was the first case in 8 years of HIV being transmitted through a blood transfusion (Enriquez, 2010). The scariest part of this for me is that the blood from the donor tested negative. This is because the donor was "tested during a 9 day eclipse period" (Enriquez, 2010). I do not know what this "eclipse period" means but apparently later on the HIV was seen in the plasma of the blood. The CDC said that the donor didn't reveal any high risk sexual practices and that it may have been undetectable anyways because the virus was at an early stage (Enriquez, 2010). The blood from this donor was also given to a heart patient in Arkansas who died 2 days after the blood transfusion (Enriquez, 2010). It could not be determined if this heart patient contracted the HIV.

I am shocked that this happened. Like I said before, it is so scary that the blood was tested and yet showed up negative for HIV. I'm just wondering how this can be avoided in the future. Did this happen because of negligence or was it simply unavoidable? It is not like the blood wasn't tested, it seems every precaution was taken, I am just dumbfounded. I can't even imagine what the kidney patient is going through. They had to wait to receive a kidney to live and now they have been infected with HIV. If I were in their situation I would want to sue but like I said, on what grounds did this happen? Hopefully this sort of thing doesn't happen again, the CDC did say it was the first time in 8 years and that HIV infection through blood transfusion is rare but it is just petrifying to hear.

Did you know?
HIV positive incarcerated woman have "high rates of cervical cytological abnormalities, sexually transmitted diseases, and certain gynecological infections" (Onorato, 2001). Vagnial infections are "slightly more common anibg HIV infected incarcerated women than non-infected incarcerated women" (Onorato, 2001).

References:

Enriquez, J. (2010, October 25). HIV-tainted blood given to kidney donation patient. Retrieved from http://seerpress.com/hiv-tainted-blood-given-to-kidney-donation-patient/11025/


Onorato, M. (2001, May). Hiv infection among incarcerated women. Retrieved from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art12954.html

Following Up

Since I found an article about it I decided to sort of do a follow up to my last blog. Last week I wrote about how 2 major adult video production comapnies had shut down because an adult film star tested positive for HIV. Luckily so far it seems that "patient zero" (the HIV positve adult film star) has not infected anyone (Tate, 2010). Only 1 round of tests have been conducted so far and so far, everyone that has come into contact with patient zero has tested negative. (Tate, 2010). I am so thankful and shocked that no one has been infected. After reading about how in the adult industry there is a lack of condom use on set I thought for sure another person would have been infected. There is so major luck on the side of these adult film stars. Hopefully this will teach everyone in the industry a lesson and condom use will become more common. A persons life is more important than selling an adult video so hopefully everyone gets over their lack of condom use and starts to practice safe sex.

Did You Know?
Cook county prisons in Chicago have received a $7 million grant to study HIV in inmates (AP, 2010). The National Institutes of Health have given the University of Illinois at Chicago this grant in order for them to find better ways to treat and test for HIV (AP, 2010). The researchers will come up with a system to test every inamte as they enter prison for HIV unless they opt out of taking the test (AP, 2010). The researchers aim is to reduce HIV transmission and increase detection of HIV (AP, 2010).
References:

Tate, R. (2010, October 21). Hiv positive porn star miraculously didn't infect anyone else. Retrieved from http://gawker.com/5669223/hiv-positive-porn-star-miraculously-didnt-infect-anyone-else

Associated Press . (2010, October 21). Uic gets $7million grant to study hiv in inmates. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-uic-hivgrant,0,4794583.story

XXX = HIV?

I came cross an article today that was sort of unexpected. News broke today of 2 major porn production companies in California shutting down production as a result of a porn star testing positive for HIV. I was shocked to read this because I always thought that there were strict rules about testing in this industry. In a place were individuals frequently have multiple sexual partners I just thought that testing would be strictly enforced and this issue could be avoided.

Wicked Pictures and Vivid Entertainment have shut down production and are desperately trying to find everyone this HIV positive individual has come into contact with so they can do testing (Shahid, 2010). The individual, who's identity and gender are being kept under wraps, resides in California (Shahid, 2010). Apparently, this isn't the first time an HIV positive porn star has caused the shut down of production companies (you would have thought the industry learned from their mistakes the first time!). Last year a woman tested HIV positive directly after filming and in 2004 14 people were said to be infected by an HIV outbreak that briefly shut down production studios in California (Shahid, 2010). Darren James, the individual responsible for the HIV outbreak in 2004 blamed the industry for "failing to protect actors from being infected" (Shahid, 2010).

"Under law, porn actors are required to test negative for HIV and any other sexually transmitted diseases within 30 day of filming" (Shahid, 2010). With this said I came across another interesting point, "Officials in L.A. have blasted the adult film industry for the lack of condom use on porn sets" (Shahid, 2010). This lifestyle just seem SO high risk to me. After learning that HIV sometimes will not show up for 6 months, this fact to me almost nulls the law of being negative for HIV within 30 days of filming, you could test negative but still be positive as we've all learned from doing module assignments. Perhaps in this industry no matter how careful, it is always going to be high risk. I just hope that this isn't another outbreak and that no one else is infected but honestly after reading about the lack of condom use on porn sets, my hopes are low.

"Down Low"
Last week Oprah did a show about men who were "down low''. It is funny that Teach brought this up becasue my mother was actually watching this episode and I caught bits and pieces of it. After doing a little research, I found out that "down low" is "slang for bisexual men who don't identify as gay and conceal that part of their lives- and the supposed link to HIV rates among black women" (Wright, 2010). Oprah interviewd a woman who sued her "down low" ex-husband for giving her HIV.

Did You Know?
A study of a womens prison in New South Wales, Australia interviewed 199 inmates. 36% of the inmates reported having sex with another inmate, most of which was oral sex, and only 4% reported the use of a dental dam (CDC, 2010). This is horrible! I understand protection may be hard to come by in prison but is just seems like these women do not even care that they are putting themselves at risk.

Sources:

Shahid, A. (2010, October 13). Porn star tests positive for hiv, wicked pictures and vivid entertainment studios postpone filming. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/10/13/2010-10-13_porn_star_tests_positive_for_hiv_wicked_pictures_and_vivid_entertainment_studios.html?r=news/national.

Wright, K. (2010, October 11). More on oprah and the truth about \"down low\" black men. Retrieved from http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/10/more_on_oprah_and_the_truth_about_the_down_low.html.

CDC.(2010, August 31). Sexual practices and dental use among women prisoners. Retrieved from http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art58266.html.

New Perspectives

So I don't know if it is just me but I feel like I am so much more aware of HIV/AIDS in the media today. I feel like I see newspaper articles or webpage articles about it much more than I did before. I think this is because I am more aware of the subject because I have been taking this class. I have been talking to my co-workers about the things I have been learning as well as my freinds and my parents. I am suprised at myself at how often I bring the topic up. Sometimes my parent look at me and are like, where are you getting this stuff from!? I told them about how I'm taking this class and they couldn't beleive there was a class all about HIV and AIDS. Like me, they were pleasantly suprised. I am thankful for the way this class has opened my eyes and my mind in so many way. I'm looking forward to learning more and excited to see what else I come across.

When looking for AIDS/HIV organization I came upon the website for the Blue Diamond Society. What makes this organization different from the other ones I found is its mission. On their website it states, "Blue diamond society fights for sexual and gender minority's social justice and right" Web: About blue diamond society, retrieved October 7, 2010. This organization reaches out specifically to gays and lesbians who are infected with HIV or AIDS as well as those who aren't. Blue diamond society is based in Nepal where religion prohibits and condemns homosexuality. Their website states that they strive to improve sexual health and human rights of the sexual minorities in Nepal. Some of the things they do include health promotion for sexual minorites, raising awareness of HIV/AIDS, documenting human rights violations and psycho-social counseling. Many of the individuals who run this organization are trained in HIV prevention techniques.

Did You Know:
There are more women in prison infected with HIV than men. Specifically, HIV infection in incacerated women are about two times higher than the rate of HIV infected incarcerated men. The HIV infection rate of incarcerated women are also 35 times higher than HIV infection in non-incarcerated women. I contintue to be shocked by the many statistics I come across and I'm sure I'm going to learn a lot more that surprise me!
Sources:Blue Diamond Society: http://www.bds.org.np/aboutus.htmlHIV Education Prison Project: http://www.idcronline.org/archives/june99/index.html

On This Day...

So I don't know if was merely coincidental or if it was fate but today as I sat down to write my blog for this week, I came upon some suprising news. Today, September, 28 2010 is the opening day of AIDS VACCINE 2010. This is "the only conference dedicated to HIV vaccine research" (GLTNN, 2010). I don't know about any of you but I had no idea this conference even existed!

At this conference more than 500 presentations will take place showing the latest "research in HIV infection and the interaction of the virus with the immune system" (GLTNN, 2010). The conference which takes place in Atlanta, opens today and runs through October first. I found what could be called a mission statement about the conference. It states that it is "dedicated to acelerating the development of a preventitive HIV vaccine through: a shared scientific strategic plan, increased resources, and greater collaboration" (About the Secretariat Enterprise, 2005). One of the conference sponsors is Bill and Melinda Gates.

Being a science student, I would absolutely love to attend this conference for just one day. I would be so eager to see what the worlds leading researchers and scientist's have found. To be at the conference would be like putting yourself in the middle of all the action. People who attend the conference get to find out the latest research and advancements made in finding an HIV vaccine. The presentations are the most current and up to date information available and it would be so exciting to be a part of it. I'm not sure how long this conference has been around but I think it is amazing that there is an entire conference dedicated to finding a vaccine. It is beautiful to see people from all over the world coming together to share their knowlege and learn from one another.

Did You Know?

While my topic is on incarcerated women with HIV or AIDS I found something slightly off topic but I wanted to post it because it was really suprising to me. "Tattooing also contributes to the spread of HIV in correctional facilities. Incarcerated populations use hollowed out ballpoint pins and pen ink to create tattoos. They may use the same pin to create tattoos on multiple prisoners. A report from California suggests that tattooing was the most prevalent HIV risk-related activity among incarcerated men" (Incarcerated Populations and HIV/AIDS, 2001). While I knew that tattooing was a contributing risk factor to HIV I didn't realize its' prevalance among the incarcerated.

Sources:

GLTNN, (2010, September 28). AIDS VACCINE 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2010, from GLT News Now: http://gltnewsnow.com/2010/09/28/aids-vaccine-2010-the-only-conference-dedicated-to-hiv-vaccine-research-opens-in-atlanta/

(2005). About the Secretariat Enterprise. Retrieved September 28, 2010, from Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise: http://www.hivvaccineenterprise.org/node/7

(2001, July). Incarcerated Populations and HIV/AIDS. Retrieved September 28, 2010, from AIDS Action Policy Facts: http://img.thebody.com/legacyAssets/37/72/incarcerated.pdf

Never Fails to Shock

After reading Teach's comment on my last blog I decided to look into something she had mentioned. She told me about another man who was knowingly infecting women with HIV. Some of these women had appeared on Oprah back in 2009 to tell their story.

A man the women described as "handsome and charismatic" had made his way into the life a 58 year old divorcee, Diane, who said that he made her "feel like the only woman on the face of the eath" (Winfrey, 2009). She began supporting him by paying for his bills, including his medical bills. Later on in the relationship she began to suspect him, Philippe, of cheating on her. Since she paid for his phone bill she confirmed this when hearing a voice mail, she broke up with him. Not too long after she went to her gynocologist for a routine exam and was informed that she had an STD. Diane had called one of the other women, Susan, that Philippe was cheating on her with and she had found out that he was dating 9 other women the same time he was dating Diane. Diane informed Susan that she had an STD so Susan wen to get checked as well. Both of them women came to find that they were HIV positive. Together they tracked down the women Philippe had been seeing and warned them of the situation. They ended up getting ahold of between 23 and 26 women. The women followed Philippe for about 6 months and eventually filed a police report which lead to a cease and desist order telling him to stop having unprotected sex. In 2005 Diane remembered a key piece of evidence that lead to Philippes arrest (Winfrey, 2009).

Philipe Padieu was charged with 6 counts of assult with a deadly weapon, the weapon being his body fluid (Winfrey, 2009). Unfortunaltey from this situation, 10 women became HIV positive. All of the 10 women testified against him and a DNA expert was able to find that the women all had the same stand of HIV (Winfrey, 2009). In May of 2009, Philippe was sentenced. He received 45 years in prison and would be eligible for parole when he is 76 (Winfrey, 2009). I admire these women for taking the offesnive on this sick individual. For them to help the other victims while they themselves are going through such a rough period in their lives is amazing. They didn't just sit there and wallow in their sorrows, they did something about it. I have no words for this man, I will never be able to understand their though process or why they did what they did. There will never ever be any justification for his actions except that he is obviously sick in the head. I think these women found a support system with the other victims and this is the best thing for them because in this case they all know exactly what one another is going through. I hope they stick together and keep in touch.

Did You Know?

In 1999, a New York city department of health study found that more than 18% of women entering the city jail were living with HIV compared to the 7.6% of men who were entering the city jail with HIV (Women in prison project, 2009). The same study found that African American women accounted for 21% of HIV positive cases while Latina's accounted for 14% and caucasian accounted for 12% (Women in prison project, 2009).

Sources:

Winfrey, O. (2009, October). New faces of hiv/aids. Retrieved from http://www.oprah.com/health/New-Faces-of-HIV-and-AIDS/5


Women in prison project. (2009, April). Retrieved from http://www.correctionalassociation.org/publications/download/wipp/factsheets/HIV_Hep_C_Fact_Sheet_2009_FINAL.pdf

Disgusting Excuse for a Human

So, I can across a new article that made me want to vomit! A 31 year old man in Boise, Idaho has been charged with knowingly exposing a sexual partner to HIV. The man confessed to having sex with 21 people he had met online since he was diagnosed back in October(KQH,2010). County health officials are trying to locate his other partners and say other charges could possibly occur(KQH,2010). He is currently being held on $500,000 bail(KQH,2010).

This is absolutely mind blowing to me!!! It is extrememly depressing and horrifying that these type of people exist in our world. I could never pity this individual because he obviously has no soul or conscience. Knowinly bringing HIV upon someone should be classified as man slaughter in my opinion. He is clearly a reckless human being and should be permanently removed from our society. I hope that his other sexual partners were safe and used condoms and hopefully this one case of an individual being infected is the only one. Personally I do not understand how one can have sex with someone they met online unless a relationship formed out of the meeting. Randomlly have intercourse with people you meet online hardly seems responsible but that being said even if it's you thing, wouldn't you expect both parties to implement the use of a condom?!?! I do not know the whole story of this man and how many times he did in fact use a condom but the whole situation is absolutley sickening.

It would be a different story if the man did not know he was HIV positive but even then I would hope no matter what a condom was being used. I just do not understand how a person can be so sadistic and careless. I hope he goes to prison and stays there. It's not like he only had sex with one person, he knowingly had HIV and had sex with 21 people without telling them. I really do hope the police can find the rest of his sexual partners so they can get tested. I can't even imagine how they will feel once they find out what this mad man did to them. I am so thankful that he was caught before he had the chance to risk someone elses life.

Did You Know?
The factors that contribute to an increased risk of HIV in incarcerated women are as follows, has used injection drugs, had had unprotected sex, has had a partner with HIV/AIDS, has had a partner that used or uses injection drugs, and has a history of sexual abuse. All thse risk factors should promt testing among women who have these risk factors.

Sources:http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art12954.html

KQH, . (2010, September 15). Boise man charged with exposing partners to hiv. Retrieved from http://www.khq.com/Global/story.asp?S=13158334

So I'm 3 weeks into the fall semester and already I have so many questions. These questions are the product of the HIV class im taking. After starting the module on statistics I was shocked. Putting everything into numbers makes it scarier! I knew that HIV/AIDS was definitely an issue but I can honestly say I didn't realize how prevalent it was.

Also, after reading some of the other blogs of my classmates, some interesting points of view came into mind. One of the main questions I have is why aren't we more aware? By we I mean the youth and the American public. I'm sure many people would be just as shocked as I was when I read all the different statistics about HIV and AIDS. On television there are so many ads and public service announcements but when I think about it I can only recall one that was on the topic of getting tested for HIV. I've seen announcements about saving starving children and donating to animal rescue foundations and preventing drunk driving but only one about HIV. I don't understand why there aren't more outlets for fostering awareness. Maybe I am just not looking and maybe I have overlooked these messages but with so many other issues brought to attention, shouldn't HIV/AIDS awareness be at the top of that list? I think sometimes people see only what they want to see and if something is not affecting them they they ignore it. I admit I am guilty of it. I feel like if everyone were exposed to the information I am being taught it would make a huge difference.

Did You Know?

There are more women in prison infected with HIV than men. Specifically, HIV infection in incacerated women are about two times higher than the rate of HIV infected incarcerated men. The HIV infection rate of incarcerated women are also 35 times higher than HIV infection in non-incarcerated women. I contintue to be shocked by the many statistics I come across and I'm sure I'm going to learn a lot more that surprise me!

Sources: Education Prison Project: http://www.idcronline.org/archives/june99/index.html

And so it begins....

To start off I feel like introducing myself a little bit to those who will read my blog. My name is Ashley and I am in my senior year at UCF. I am majoring in health sciences and have yet to fully commit to a career after college. Since time is running out I am definitely a nervous wreck. All I know is I am interested in the health care industry in a clinical aspect. I was super excited to sign up for the HIV course and I feel like I am going to learn so much. My biggest goal in taking this class is to become more open minded. I wasn't scared to be in this class, more excited and curious. I have to be honest when I say I really do not know much about HIV. I have learned some aspects of it but mostly about the biology and chemistry of the disease. I haven't been exposed to actual effects it has on people who are infected with it. I feel like I want to get away from the science of the disease and learn more about the people who have it and the psychology of it all. I have to say I am most curious about how people who are infected with it come to terms with having the disease. On a very superficial note, because I do not know much about it, I think people who are infected with the disease are immesnly brave. I in no way pretend to know what they go through but Im so eager to get a glimpe into how people deal in their situations. I hope this course opens my eyes to it all and I hope to gain some insight and come out of this course with more of an open mind. I hope those who read my blog can also offer some insight and open my eyes to different ways of thinking.

Did You Know?
For this portion of my blog I intend to focus on incarcerated women who are HIV positive or are living with AIDs. I am interested in finding out what types of treatment these women receive in prison and how they deal with their condition. I read an article on the subject and found some interesting issues. Since prison regulations makes it hard for the women to comply with the instructions of their HIV medication, they often times develop drug resistence. The article also says that the inmates are not made properly aware of the side effects of the medication and so they stop their medicine regimen. Perhaps one of the more suprising points in the article is that some inmates that do not know whether they are HIV positive or not refuse to get tested because they do not want to know.

Source:
HIV and the Incarcerated Women

http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art1194.html