Assignment Code: BSW-127/TMA/2022-23

Course Code: BSW-127

Assignment Name: Public Health and HIV/AIDS

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Answer any five of the following questions in about 300 words each. 20x5

Q1) Write a note on the changing concepts of public health.

Ans) The changing concepts of public health are as follows:

Curative Medicine: Allopathic medicine, which is described as the "treatment of sickness by the use of medicines which causes a reaction that itself neutralises the disease," was introduced by a significant revolution in the middle of the 20th century. The elimination of disease from the patient is the main goal of curative medicine.

Preventive Medicine: Even if the phrase "public health" no longer has the same connotation it once had, words like "preventive medicine," "social medicine," and "community medicine" are sometimes employed as synonyms. The phrase "preventive medicine" originates from the United States, where the medical profession controlled public health and infectious disease prevention was nearly its sole focus. Healthy individuals receive preventive medical care typically through behaviours that have a significant population-wide impact. The three pillars of preventive medicine are disability prevention, treatment, and promotion of health.

Social Medicine: Jules Guerin, a French physician, coined the phrase "social medicine" for the first time in 1848. The French Revolution, which began in France and expanded to Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary, served as the inspiration for this idea. The socialist-based new order and society were the goals of the revolution. Alfred Grotjahn of Berlin reintroduced the idea of social medicine in 1911 by highlighting the significance of social elements in the pathogenesis of social pathology.

Community Health: Community health has taken the position in certain nations of public health, preventive medicine, and social medicine. Society health was described as including "all the personal health and environmental services in any human community, regardless of whether such services were public or private" during a EURO conference in 1966.

Family and Community Medicine: Family is the centre of healthcare and the ideal setting for integrating preventative, promotive, and curative treatments. The birth of family and community medicine has been a rediscovery of the personal, social, local, and cultural dimensions of health and disease. Family-centred medicine is used to treat patients and their families; it develops into a practise specialty.

Q2) Who are the vulnerable population at the risk of being infected with HIV/AIDS? Explain.

Ans)

Sex Workers or Prostitutes

The main method of transmission of the HIV virus is through sexual activity. Different groups of people are more susceptible than others to contracting HIV through sexual activity. Sex workers are present in every country and culture. Most of them are women who charge a fee to sell their bodies. Some males might partake in male prostitution as well.

Same Sex Relationships

Activities involving same-sex couples are extremely risky. In actuality, same-sex partners were where the first HIV infections were discovered. Up until recently, this pattern persisted in the United States of America. Both anal and oral penetration are high-risk sexual behaviours. The mucosa or skin surrounding the genital organs rips and bleeds as a result. When having intercourse orally, the teeth can damage the genital organs. Because the anus cannot receive an erect penis during anal intercourse, penetration becomes uncomfortable for both active and passive partners. Both the hard rectum and the penis sustain injuries or tears during the operation, which can lead to bleeding and the transfer of HIV/STDs.

Eunuchs

Eunuch involvement in the flesh trade is not a recent phenomenon in any nation. They currently represent a high-risk category in India. In India, there may be more than a million of them. They own and operate brothels that cater to bisexuals and gays in particular.

Sperm Donors

There are some confirmed instances of HIV transmission by artificial insemination from different parts of the world. If sperm donors are HIV-positive, they risk spreading the disease to others. Several sperm banks can be found across the nation in different regions. In this nation, beggars, street vendors, and underpaid labourers are frequently the sperm donors. Many drug users also sell their sperm for money to obtain drugs.

Q3) Describe how one can live positively with HIV/AIDS with relevant examples.

Ans) Everyone appears to agree that ethics whether we refer to it as morality or dharma deals with the moral precepts of ethical behaviour, human duty, and moral speech. Real goodness and human happiness have always been the ultimate goals of ethics. Thus, ethics is the science that ought to help us achieve what can be called human self-realization, or sadhana, in our lives.

A person's goodness and happiness ultimately depend on their interactions with other people, the environment in which they live, and how they approach life's big questions, such as their potential connection to the Ultimate Being. The perennial pursuit of this nation's sages has been to find life's balance with Satya and Dharma, the cosmos' order, the ontological sphere of the self, and social obligations.

The goal of ethics in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic should be to improve the quality of life for those who have the disease as well as for everyone else. HIV/AIDS may also be seen as a "moral booster" because it affects all significant existential aspects of human existence. A positive outlook on life entails:

1. Realizing and accepting their infection.

2. Having knowledge of and comprehension of HIV/AIDS.

3. Taking actions to keep others from contracting their sickness.

4. Taking precautions to avoid increasing their risk of contracting HIV or other illnesses.

5. Maintaining great attention to their physical condition and promptly treating any signs of illness.

6. Being able to get emotional assistance.

7. Continued involvement in social activities.

8. Healthy eating and developing coping mechanisms for difficult conditions.

Living positively with HIV/AIDS is how one may describe this mentality. This philosophy, which appears to be difficult, is doable. We all need help as we work through the ups and downs of achieving positive living. It is a necessary step in overcoming the range of emotions that being HIV-positive can cause, including shock, denial, rage, bargaining, acceptance, and hope. Friends and counsellors should develop their skills to spot this instability.

Q4. What are the socio-cultural factors present in our society that makes woman vulnerable to HIV infection?

Ans) The socio-cultural factors present in our society that makes woman vulnerable to HIV infection are as follows:

1. Early Sexual Intercourse: In terms of culture, girls are initiated into sexual activity several years sooner than boys. When they are married, many women are still in their mid-teens. Women frequently marry considerably older, more sexually experienced males.

2. Source of Infection: Nearly all cases of HIV infection among women reported in underdeveloped nations were contracted through heterosexual relationships. The majority of Indian women have contracted the disease not as a result of their own behaviour but rather that of their husband.

3. Lack of Choice: Women in marriage do not have control over their own lives or their husbands' lives outside of the marriage. It's possible for the virus to enter a marriage through extramarital encounters, intravenous drug use, or the husband's bisexual behaviour.

4. Poor Access to Health, Education and Care: In society, women are viewed as child-bearers and child-readers. According to the sociological division of labour, they are more accountable for the home and kids. Information, education, and mobility are all restricted.

5. Blame: Unfortunately, even when the proof to the contrary is present, the woman is typically held responsible when HIV/AIDS is first discovered in a family.

6. Isolation and Stigma: Women living with HIV experience acute isolation and loneliness. They are forced to conceal their sero-positive status out of fear of societal stigma. They worry about losing their community, friends, and family.

7. Delay in Diagnosis: Due to the hierarchy of power within the family, Indian women frequently aren't aware that they are HIV positive or may be the last person in their family to receive a diagnosis.

8. Emotional Response: The woman is suddenly forced to deal emotionally with her husband's adultery after learning of his HIV diagnosis. She might have resentment towards her husband, grief over the loss of her health and prestige, and guilt over how she might have contributed to disease in her own family, especially in her young children.

9. Dependency: In India, the majority of women rely on their husbands or his family for financial support, food, clothes, and shelter.

10. Burden and Bereavement: The Indian female child is seen as a burden from the moment of her birth, first for her parents and then for her husband's family. Her biological family's main goal is to rapidly arrange for her to be married off.

11. Pregnancy: Male procreation is thought to be possible in women. Many Indians think sons are the ones who would mature, make money, and take care of their elderly parents, while daughters are a burden because they were given away in marriage

Q5) Answer the following:

a) Why is AIDS different from other disease?

Ans) The distinction between the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the majority of other epidemics and diseases has been highlighted as one of the epidemic's most important aspects. It necessitates a very distinct and comprehensive response that extends beyond the health industry. There are a number of things that set it apart from other disorders. First and foremost, HIV/AIDS differs from other diseases in that it causes a person's immune system to be completely destroyed.

A number of opportunistic diseases, including tuberculosis, prey on HIV/AIDS patients. This virus spreads by particular risky behaviours, most of which occur in private life. Unprotected intercourse and personal, private sexual activity with several partners are the most typical ways that HIV is transmitted. One of the many options to slow the spread of disease in the near future is behaviour modification. The obvious and invisible effects of the epidemic constitute a serious and immediate threat to development.

b) Write about any five myths regarding HIV/AIDS.

Ans) The extensive introduction on HIV/AIDS/STD myths successfully addresses the false information that is frequently accepted and disseminated without reference to a reliable source.

1. Handshake (Shaking Hand): As long as the skin is undamaged and intact, there is very little possibility of contracting the virus through a "shake hand," as adults are more likely to contract it through the exchange of blood or sexual fluids. There is no risk while shaking hands casually because there is no exchange of blood or sexual fluids.

2. Sharing a Toilet /Bathroom: The likelihood of contracting an infection through the toilet seat is extremely slim. This could only occur if the following user's skin or genitalia came into contact with newly contaminated blood on the toilet seat. This can be avoided by using the toilet properly and impeccably.

3. Sharing a Toothbrush (Contact with Saliva): Small quantities of HIV virus are present in saliva. It is quite unlikely that a small bit of saliva will spread the virus. Sharing a towel or toothbrush has been demonstrated to be unlikely to spread the infection. The toothpaste contains antiseptics that kill the virus.

4. Kissing/Embracing: If you give an infected person a regular, dry kiss or a gentle embrace, there is no risk in doing so. A dry kiss carries almost little risk. There are few HIV-positive people in the general community, and there is essentially no chance of contracting the virus by kissing or hugging an infected person.

5. Swimming Pool/Ponds are Safe: The only way someone infected with HIV might infect you at a pond or swimming pool is if they get an injury from abrasion on a hard surface and leave a blood-puddle, which you stepped in, inflicting an injury. The likelihood of contracting HIV is negligible, even if ten pints of brand-new blood were to be poured into a pool.