1. Introduction
As ravaging effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic spreads, many businesses are realizing that the spread negatively affects their workforce, market and ultimately ability to earn profits (Sithole, 2007). Organizations now realize that HIV/AIDS is not simply a health issue, but a core business issue, as it affects the performance of infected employees and the company’s production and investments (Lisk, 2002; IFC, 2002). In response to this problem, many organizations are setting up on-site HCT facilities at their work places as a strategy to improve knowledge of HIV/AIDS which is critical to both prevention and treatment goals (DoH, 2009) of the debilitating infection.
This paper is designed to describe the HIV testing facility at the work place, the concepts surrounding the HCT process, wider logistic issues that are required for the smooth running of the HCT programme as well as persons required for manning directly or indirectly the HCT facility.
2. The HIV testing Facility and HCT
The main purpose of the HIV testing facility is to provide quality HCT services. According to the WHO (2001), quality HCT services can be defined as “accessible HCT services that meet the needs of clients and providers, in an equitable and acceptable manner, within the resources available and in line with national guidelines” (p. 1). The HCT process is generally based on the concept that the HIV testing must be ethical, based on human rights, conducted within a supportive environment and performed by a trained health care professional (DoH, 2010), following the principles of confidentially, consent and counselling [Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (MoPHS), 2008]. Therefore the testing facility should be found in a confident...
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...Counselling in Kenya. National AIDS and STD control Programme (NASCOP), Nairobi: Kenya
Sithole, A., (2007). The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Business and the need for Company Involvement. CCA HIV/AIDS Initiative. Pretoria: South Africa.
The Republic of Uganda, (2005), HIV counselling and testing: Toolkit for coordinators and supervisors. Kampala: AIDS/HIV Model District Programme.
UNICEF, (2008). HIV diagnosis: A guide for selecting rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) kits. Copenhagen: Denmark.
World Health Organization, (2001). Improving HIV counselling and Testing Services. Retrieved on January 16, 2012, from http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/vct/en/index.html
World Health Organization & Centre for Disease Control, (2002). Guidelines for appropriate evaluations of HIV Testing technologies in Africa. Department of Health and Human Services, Harare: Zimbabwe.
The spread of aids threatens our population daily. Lives lost to it number over 12 million, including 2 mil...
The gay community was given no mercy in the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. There was very little access to care, hence the reason blood work and some research was done out of a motel room. The CDC had no access to funding which made it hard for studies and research to be done without the right equipment.
Zencovich, M., K. Kennedy, D. W. MacPherson, and B. D. Gushulak. 2006. “Immigration medical screening and HIV infection in Canada.” International Journal of STD & AIDS 17:813.
Roberts, Cleora S., Cindy Severinsen, Chuck Kuehn, Drew Straker, and C. Joy Fritz. "Obstacles to Effective Case Management with AIDS Patients The Clinician's Perspective." Web. 17 June 2011.
Half of the world’s cases are found in what is referred to as the AIDS belt, a chain of countries in eastern and southern Africa that is home to two percent of the global population. The main vehicle for spreading HIV throughout Africa is heterosexual intercourse. In contrast, this is the opposite compared to the U.S. where the virus is usually transmitted through homosexual intercourse or contaminated syringes shared by drug users. Besides heterosexual intercourse, HIV transmission through transfusion and contaminated medical equipment is common in sub-Saharan Africa. Africans infected with HIV die much sooner after diagnosis than HIV-infected people in other parts of the world.
...llaborate with international and local organizations to build community partnerships to improve HIV prevention. The CHN would have to effectively utilize primary prevention to reduce the overall incidences of transmission by: seeking to increase the proportion of substance abuse treatment facilities that offer HIV/AIDS education and support, educating and increasing the proportion of sexually active individuals who use protection. The nurse can also implement secondary prevention or early detection and prompt treatment of disease. This type can prevent the activation of latent infections and promote optimal health in HIV-infected individuals. The CHN would also implement tertiary prevention by encouraging patients to have consistent follow-up exams to identify and prevent diseases that may affect those afflicted with HIV/AIDS such as Tuberculosis and other diseases.
, findings have implications for designing and implementing interventions supporting women with HIV disease in disclosing their HIV status appropriately, particularly to their spouse and children. In the long run, self-disclosure may help decrease depression and improve quality of life among HIV-infected women living in limited resource settings. A referral for a personal counselor and a family counselor would be beneficial for Keishea and her family.... ... middle of paper ...
...In conclusion, since the first documented case of HIV and AIDS in the 1980s, it has affected health care in several ways. Donor centers have changed their screening of donors and testing ways of the blood collected. It has increased the awareness needed for taking universal precautions when dealing in any patient care. Medical equipment modified to protect health care providers from accidentally being stuck with infected needles. Health programs designed to educate patients and raise awareness of the disease among the at-risk population. HIV and AIDS have had an impact on patient care but in a positive way also.
"UNAIDS Guidance Note on HIV and Sex Work." Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) (2009): n. pag. UNAIDS. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
To decrease HIV transmission and to minimise the impact of the epidemic, on children, young people and families, through the growing effectiveness of national action to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the East of Asia and the Pacific regions. They aim to provide practical support and aid at community level, encouraging the full engament of people affected by HIV/AIDS.
...ry medical treatment. Obtaining medical treatment, and counseling will give HIV positive employees the correct knowledge about their condition. This will also help HIV negative employees in receiving facts about the virus and ways to protect themselves.
Is mandatory testing a better strategy for preventing HIV/AIDS is the main question that is discussed in this document.
In 1981, a new fatal, infectious disease was diagnosed--AIDS (Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome). It began in major cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco. People, mostly homosexual men and intravenous drug users, were dying from very rare lung infections or from a cancer known as Kaposi’s sarcoma. They have not seen people getting these diseases in numerous years. Soon, it also affected hemophiliacs, blood recipients, prostitutes and their customers, and babies born from AIDS-infected women. AIDS was soon recognized as a worldwide health emergency, and as a fatal disease with no known cure, that quickly became an epidemic. When high-profile victims began to contract the virus, such as basketball star Magic Johnson, the feeling spread quickly that anyone, not just particular groups of people, could be at risk. AIDS impairs the human body’s immune system and leaves the victim susceptible to various infections. With new research, scientists think that the disease was first contracted through a certain type of green monkey in Africa, then somehow mutated into a virus that a human could get. AIDS is a complicated illness that may involve several phases. It is caused by a virus that can be passed from person to person. This virus is called HIV, or Human Immuno-deficiency Virus. In order for HIV to become full-blown AIDS, your T-cell count (number of a special type of white-blood cells that fight off diseases) has to drop below 200, or you have to get one of the symptoms of an AIDS-induced infection.
Without proper knowledge and equipment, it is very difficult to prevent the spread of AIDS. Ever since the illness was discovered thirty years ago, it has taken the lives of thirty million people and affected the lives of many, many more. The AIDS pandemic has been and still is most severe in third-world countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It has impacted the economies of entire nations by crippling and killing individuals in the most productive years of their lives (“HIV/AIDS”). AIDS greatly influences the government sector, agricultural sector, private corporations, and individual households.
The emergence of HIV/AIDS is viewed globally as one of the most serious health and developmental challenges our society faces today. Being a lentivirus, HIV slowly replicates over time, attacking and wearing down the human immune system subsequently leading to AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) at which point the affected individual is exposed to life threatening illnesses and eventual death. Despite the fact that a few instances of this disease have been accounted for in all parts of the world, a high rate of the aforementioned living with HIV are situated in either low or medium wage procuring nations. The Sub-Saharan region Africa is recognized as the geographic region most afflicted by the pandemic. In previous years, people living with HIV or at risk of getting infected did not have enough access to prevention, care and treatment neither were they properly sensitized about the disease. These days, awareness and accessibility to all the mentioned (preventive methods, care etc.) has risen dramatically due to several global responses to the epidemic. An estimated half of newly infected people are among those under age 25(The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic). It hits hard as it has no visible symptoms and can go a long time without being diagnosed until one is tested or before it is too late to manage.