Awareness and measure to prevent HIV/AIDS

Introduction

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a lentivirus (a sub group of retrovirus that causes HIV infection and other time leads to immune deficiency syndrome AIDS is a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infection and cancer to thrive. without treatment, HIV is estimated to be 9 to 11 years, depending on the HIV subtype. Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, virginal fluid, pre-ejaculate, breast milk. Within these body fluids, HIV is present as both free virus particles and virus within infected immune cells (Weiss, 1993).

AIDS was first clinically observed in 1981 in the United States. The initial cases were a cluster of injection drug users and gay men with no known cause of impaired immunity who showed symptoms of pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), a rare opportunistic infection that was known to occur in people with very compromised immune system (Dovek, 2009) diagnosis of HIV infections caused by Retroviruses I and II is initially done by enzyme-linked immune sorbent Assay (ELISA). Also, immune fluorescence Assay (IFA) and western blot is confirmatory test in the diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. Both HIV I and HIV II are believed to have originated in non-human primates in west-central Africa and are believed to have transferred to humans (zoonosis) in the early 20^th century (Gilbert, 2003).

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS infection is progressively increasing in Nigerian universities and other institution of higher learning, as a result, this survey will cover the awareness, knowledge and attitude on HIV preventive measures in one of the polytechnics in the south-south zone of Nigeria.

Awareness of HIV preventive measures

An increase in HIV diagnosis brings awareness to the disease. Since discovery of HIV/AIDS in 1981, the virus has killed more than 39million people. There is a great need to initiate HIV prevention programme which are interventions that aim to halt the transaction of HIV. They are implemented to either protect an individual and their community, or rolled out as public health policies. Initially, HIV prevention methods focused on preventing the sexual transmission of HIV through behaviour change, for a number of years, the ABC approach- Abstinence, Be faithful, Use a condom- was used in response to the growing epidemic in sub Saharan Africa. However, by the Mild 2000, it became evident that effective HIV prevention requires more than simply BC and that interventions need to take into \count underlying socio-cultural, economic political, legal and other contextual factors.

As the complex nature of the global HIV epidemics has become clear, a combination of prevention has largely replaced ABC. Combination prevention advocates for a holistic approach whereby HIV prevention is not a single intervention (such as condom distribution) but the simultaneous use of contemporary behavioural biochemical and structural prevention strategies (Auvert, 2008).

Right-based, evidence-informed, and community-owned programmes that use a mix biomedical, behavioural and structural intervention incorporated to meet the current HIV preventions needs of particular individual and communities so as to have the greatest sustained impact on reducing new infections ( Jones, 2014).

National youth HIV and AIDS awareness day is an annual observance that take place on April 10 to educate the public about the impact of HIV on young people and to highlight the work young people are doing across the country to respond to the epidemics. Advocates for youth is the lead for planning the observance day

The awareness of HIV prevention in the world is significant; as a result, the process of this study will reveal these findings as applicable to the student of the Department of Public Administration, Delta State Polytechnic on the awareness of HIV preventatives.

Knowledge and attitude towards HIV prevention

Lack of knowledge of HIV status is major barrier to HIV prevention, care and treatment. The vast majority of HIV infected persons are unaware of their HIV status, posing a major barrier to HIV prevention, care and treatment effort. New approaches to HIV prevention care and treatment effort may increase coverage (Kaise, 2007)

Part of the purpose for this study was to explore the knowledge and attitude of HIV prevention by student of the Department of Public Administration of Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe. Planning and implementing effective HIV prevention programs in Nigeria requires ongoing assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices that are sensitive to African culture and gender roles. The intractable spread of HIV infection is most certainly a product of multiple variables concerning procreation, gender difference in negotiation skills, knowledge about effectiveness of condoms and perceived self efficacy. In planning intervention for higher institution- aged program participant’s changes attitudes particularly related to gender and culture, may be more salient than improving knowledge of long-term behaviour change is the goal.

Young people are particularly important in state polices against Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This study is equally aimed at assessing the knowledge and attitude of students of higher institution using the students of the Department of Public Administration, Delta State Polytechnic as a case study. Researchers have proven that the routes of transmission were common. There is a substantial intolerant attitude towards AIDS and HIV positive patients.

Understanding the needs of the vulnerable population in HIV prevention

Thinking strategically-risk virus vulnerability in the first decade of the AIDS epidemic, the term at risk group was applied to those socio group in which the first case of the disease were diagnosed. Individual thus labelled had their humanity questioned were presented as the only ones susceptible to the disease, and were considered dangerous. As a result, the general population failed to identify themselves at risk. Not surprisingly, that period was marked by limited drug research and large scale increase in social stigma and prejudice

According to UNAIDS (2007) risk can be defined as the probability of an individual becoming infected y HIIV, either through his or her own actions, knowingly or not, or via another person’s action. For example injecting drugs using contaminated needles or having unprotected sex with multiple partners, vulnerability to HIV infection, and individual or community inability to control their rate of HIV infection. Poverty, gender inequality and displacement as a result of conflict or natural disaster are all examples of social and economic factors that enhance peoples vulnerability, need to be addressed in planning comprehensive responses to the epidemic (UNAIDS, 2007)

To better assess the needs of the Vulnerability group on HIV infection and its prevention and to adequately apply it when designing prevention strategies, man and collaboration defied three interdependent and interactive.

Vulnerability components

Individual vulnerability
Programmatic (or political) vulnerability
Social (or collective) vulnerability

Individual vulnerability: Derived from personal behaviour, knowledge and attribute that affect the possibility of preventing HIV infections

Programmatic vulnerability: By their design programs and services can increase vulnerability to HIV/ AIDS among people most susceptible

Social vulnerability: Incorporates those socio factors that influence the capacity to reduce individual vulnerability. It focuses on policies and law. Also includes the socio cultural, and economic environment and factors such as level of education, income, employment rates equity status for women and minority groups, religious belief race sexual orientation geographical or regional origin

Vulnerability factors to address in prevention intervention

Individual vulnerability involves:

Awareness of:

Reproductive and sexual health and sexuality
HIV transmission mechanisms
Health and education services, including counselling, voluntary HIV testing and STI treatment.
The right to services and confidentiality
Attraction to the same sex
Reproductive and sexual rights

Behavioural factors, personal characteristics and social relations, including:

Emotional development
Ability to negotiate sexual practices including safer sex and condom use, especially in situation involving age and gender inequalities
History of discrimination
Self Esteem
Perception of risk and social norms History of risky sexual behaviour
Use of drug, including alcohol
Perception of personal safety within the social environment and social networking

Programmatic vulnerability reduction involves:

Unbiased information/education on sexuality, sexual and reproductive right and health
Diagnosis and treatment services for STP’s
HIV testing and counselling linked clinical services
Condoms and other preventive commodities
Health staff trained and sensitized to provide appropriate services to vulnerable groups
Health staff with knowledge, skills and comfort in talking about different sexual practices without judgment
Programs showing the risk related o sharing needles and syringes and addressing harm reduction and treatment with confidentiality
Implementation of the ‘three ones’ approach recommended y UNAIDS

Social vulnerability is enhanced by the presence of:

Widespread stigma and discrimination against members of vulnerable groups
Significant gender inequalities built into cultures and re enforced with social norms
Social values that restrict discussion /education around sexuality and gender relation and forbid and condemn commercial sex, same sex couple or drug abuse. Reduced by the presence of:
Construction on harmonization of international AIDS funding: End- of- meeting agreement, Washington, DC 2004: This agreement, reached by UNAIDS in collaboration with national HIV/AIDS program, bilateral and multilateral donors and civil society organizations, spell out the three attention to sexual and reproductive health priorities within a co-ordinate and coherent response to HIV/AIDS that builds upon the principle of one national HIV/AIDS framework, one broad-based multispectral HIV/AIDS co-coordinating body and one country level monitoring and evaluation system.

Theoretical framework

The AIDS risk reduction model believers changes is a process individuals must go through with different factors affecting movement. This model proposes that the further an intervention helps clients to progress on the stage continuum, the more likely they are to exhibit change. This model includes element of several other theories/models (health belief model, self efficiently theory and psychological theory) and is applicable to sexually active or injecting drugs using individuals. This was developed specifically for the context of HIV perception. Individual must pass through three stages.

A – Labeling – One must label their actions as risky for contracting HIV
B – Commitment – Making a firm decision, remaining undecided, waiting for the problem to solve itself and resigning the problems.
C – Enactment – Seeking information, obtaining remedies and enacting solutions.

Another theory that supports the context of this study is the health belief model. The health belief model maintains that help related behaviours depend on four those beliefs that must be operating for a behaviour change to occur.

Perceived susceptibility – Personally valuable to the condition
Perceived severity – belief that harm can be done by condition
Perceived benefits of performing a behaviour – what they are going to get out of the change
Perceived barriers of performing the behaviour – what keeps them from changing.

References

ABC UK Consortium on AIDS and International Development (2013). HIV prevention strategies. A Working Group Briefing Paper, 2(9),71-9.

ABCDE UNAIDS (2006). Combination HIV prevention: Tailoring and coordinating biomedical, behavioural and structural strategies to reduce new HIV infections. New York: UNAIDS.

Avert, B. (2005). Randomized controlled intervention trial of maile circumcision for reduction of HIV infection risk. The ANRS Trial PLOS Medicine, 2(11),298.

Bekker, L.G. (2015). Combination for female sex workers. What is the evidence? Lancet, 385(9962),72-87.

Doyek, D. C. Roederer, M. & Koup, R.A. (2009). Emerging concept in the immune pathogenesis of AIDS, Annu.Rev. Med., 60, 471-84.

International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (2001). Retrivirdae, London: National Institute of Health.

Jones, A.B.(2014). Transformation of HIV from pandemic to low economic level: A public health approach to combination prevention. Lancet, 384(9939), 272-279.

Kaiser, M. (2009). HIV/AIDS and personal decision making about sex among men in Nigeria. Procedia-social and behavioural sciences, 6,67-71.

Koch, L.M., Godinex, W.J., Muller, B., Rohr, K. Krausslich, H.G., Lehmann (2008). Knowledge, attitude and related to HIV/AIDS among college students in Taiwan. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 78(5), 77-81.

Smith, J.A., Daniel, R. Following the path of the virus: The exploitation of host DNA repair modernism by retro virology. ACS Chembio, 1(4),17-26.

UNAIDS (2007). Practical guidelines for intensifying HIV prevention. New York: UNAIDS.