... VANDERHOFF, M.A.1 ABSTRACT This research study sought to develop, pilot test, and assess a brief male-centered condom promotion program for urban young adult African American males. For study implementation, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used, and the project was guided by tenets of two common but integrated theoretical frameworks in HIV/sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention research: the social cognitive theory and the stages of change model. The purpose of the qualitative component was to identify and explore condom-use barriers and facilitators while that of the quantitative component was to identify the prevalence of condom-related behaviors and the feasibility of program administration. After recruitment of study participants from hang-out spots and street intercepts, study participants were self-administered a baseline survey regarding their perceived condom-use behaviors prior to random assignment to program conditions (a condom promotion program and an attentionmatched comparison condition). In this paper, we report the findings from the analyses of the quantitative baseline survey data. While the occurrence of HIV/STD-related risk behaviors were highly prevalent among this population; importantly, regression analyses revealed that sexual debut, favorable attitudes toward condom use, social or personal connectedness to HIV/STDs, health beliefs, perceived susceptibility, unprotected sexual encounters, and refusal skills...
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...Epidemiology Paper The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relevancy of the vulnerable population, and the disease for this group. The vulnerable population that has been chosen is mental illness, and the disease for this population is AIDS/HIV. There will be a definition and description of epidemiology in regards to HIV/AIDS, with the steps and method that was used. The Epidemiological Triangle will be define and identified, and the different types of epidemiology. The population chosen characteristics such as the influenced population’s vulnerability. This essay will also examine the values and potential cultural biases with cultural considerations that may impact health issues. There are legal and ethical consideration when working with the mentally ill. Describing the relationship of the disease to varies levels of prevention. Relevant population and the disease of this population The mentally ill the population and the disease is AIDS/HIV. Mental disorders are indiscriminate. They occur across the span and affect persons of all races, cultures genders and educational and socioeconomic group. One of the leading cause of disability is mental illness. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and AIDS have had an enormous political and social impact on society. Nearly 75% of new HIV infections occur in persons between 30-49 years may result in disrupted families and lost careers and economic productivity. (Stanhope, 2012, p317) HIV is transmitted through exposure...
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...social problem that is affecting various things. Some individuals understand that this is a concern to the teenagers, but not everyone understand the consequences that our society have to face. 85 percent of teen is sexual active around the age 15 and 19. Throughout this paper I will be discussing why teenage pregnancy is a social problem and the various problems and consequences it have on our society. First the teenage mothers, the baby and on to the new parents. Dramatic changes need to be made before it destroy our society. The youth need to be educated more about unprotected sex and the consequences that comes along with it. There are several reasons why teen pregnancy occur. Majority of the time teen pregnancy occur because of peer pressure. Teen pregnancy is a natural drive to conform. “The main reason that peer pressure is so easily driven by teens, because they are programmed to conform” (Barker, n.d.). Unprotected sex is another reason why teen pregnancy occur and that also can lead to sexually transmitted diseases. Unprotected sex occur for several reason, for example if both the teens are using drugs and alcohol before sex and some teens do not know the consequences for having unprotected sex. Sexual abuse or rape can cause...
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...Policy Analysis III- Compare and Contrast Paper Brandy Alston University of Phoenix Criminal Justice Management Theory and Practice CJA/464 Professor Leroy Hendrix October 10, 2013 Policy Analysis III- Compare and Contrast Paper The reason for policy analysis reflects around the assessment of policies from the government by critiquing the failures and successes. The United States implement several policies to deal with criminal activity and social issues, for instance The United States Human Trafficking Policy, this policy is not a successful one but this policy is steadily improving with sustainable reform. The criminal justice system practice the model of Packard’s Due Process, established with the promise form the United States Constitution for individuals civil liberties and rights. This paper will evaluate the issues that courts and law enforcement deals with while working and implementing prior polices. United States Human Trafficking Policy Human trafficking is a tough crime to identify, because of the existence and the transnational nature of an increasingly sophisticated arrangement in assisting organize crime. Trafficking in person is most productive agency in international crimes. According to the United States Justice Department (2001), International Labor Organization predicts that 17,500 individuals are trafficked annually in the United States. The United States had numerous legal advantages to stop human trafficking, mainly using...
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...Interventions in Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Systematic Review Communication 623 Final Paper Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Health Psychology Seminar at Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania by Qijia Chen May 2014 Instructor: Professor John B. Jemmott, Annenberg School for Communication Abstract The current paper provides a comprehensive review of the literature on social network intervention in HIV prevention among MSM. I performed a systematic literature research in multi-lingual databases and located a relatively exhaustive collection of articles on social network interventions in MSM. There is strong evidence that such interventions are efficacious in generating changes in behavioral and psychological constructs that might lead to risk reduction in HIV infection and transmission. This paper identified several urgent issues in the current state of research development, particularly, a lack of theoretical development, an insufficient numbers of methodologically rigorous studies, and an absence of clear conceptual distinctions and implementary recommendations. The review also proposes potential solutions and suggestions for future research. Introduction Men who have sex with men (MSM) comprise the largest proportion of new HIV infections in the USA (CDC, 2011). Efforts to curtail the incidence of HIV infection require that at-risk individuals adopt effective behavioral changes. Previous research and prevention programs...
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...Ciara S. Lawrence April 17, 2011 Research Paper (Draft) Professor Jeffries Introduction: HIV/AIDS is an epidemic that has become widely spread in the United States which has become a major public health issue around the world. There are around 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS and 400,000 new cases every year.[] In the U.S. today women make up more than 300,000 of the 1.2 million people with HIV/AIDS.[] Being that AIDS is the leading cause of death in black people throughout the U.S.. Black people make up 13 percent of the population, but 65 percent of new HIV/AIDS cases. Whereas black women are still dispportionate infected for more than sixty-six percent of HIV/AIDS cases in the country with a rate of infection fifteen times higher than white women and four times higher than Latinas. Considering the aforementioned, it is not difficult to conclude that most of the new cases pinpoint a major disparity between black women and women of other races. Cultural environmental and other factors that exacerbate the problem are high numbers of black men going to prison, the effects of the black church and the lack of government resources. In my research paper, I will identify the causes of HIV/AIDS and suggest solutions to prevent the spread of this disease among black woman. According to Mayo Clinic the definition of Human immunodeficiency virus is a virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in which the immune system in the body begins to fail causing...
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...I. Introduction This research proposal is intended to provide an overview of the effects of morning after pills on the women welfare. This is because it has been estimated that usage of these pills has been on the upward trend in the recent past. The paper seeks to identify specific health and social vices that are caused by the pills. II. Importance of the study This topic is critical since there have been an increased number of women taking the rug without the basic knowledge about them. The aim is to provide an insight to women on the benefits and the disadvantages of such pills. III. Results/ discussion Mornings-after pills are consumed by women in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies. The pills work to reduce the chances of implantation of the fetus in case of fertilization. The pills are used after a woman engages in an unprotected sexual activity. There are varied benefits for using the pills. First, the drugs do not interfere with the intake of rugs used for family planning method. This is because it does not affect a women’s fertility. There are sexual activities that are not planned that risk pregnancy. The next benefit derive from the use of these pills is that they are very effective thus can be relied upon in cases of emergency. In fact, the effectiveness rate of the pill s is 90% within 24 hours after unprotected sex. Women should not be afraid of the health effects sine the pills are approved by the world health organization. However, theses pills...
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...widespread and devastating epidemics we are currently dealing with. Many factors about this virus contribute to making it spread faster, become deadlier, and leaves no one unaffected. HIV/AIDS reaches the young and the old, the rich and the poor, and those in developed and undeveloped countries. Education about the virus and how it is approached to different people also affects how it is spread, several cultural factors come into play as to how effective it is in preventing future contraction of the virus. The cultural perceptions of the virus also affect how the virus is researched and how medicines are developed for it. Religion also plays a role in how the virus is spread and can have an impact on how those who are researching the disease research it. The spread of HIV/AIDS is affected by several factors the main ones being the approach of education taken, cultural perceptions of the disease, and religion. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was first recognized as a disease in 1981 (Kshatriya, 2005, pg. 69). Before 1981 it was found in the Caribbean and in African countries but it wasn’t until those first cases in the United States were diagnosed that the disease was officially recognized. HIV/AIDS exploded in America in the early 80’s, and initially they thought that AIDS was a “gay disease” and called it GRID standing for “gay related immune disease” (Lovell, 2011, pg. 111). This caused an initial stigmatization of the disease due to the association with homosexuality...
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...(MedlinePlus 2008). Adolescent mothers are more numerous in western societies and especially in the United States. Today, young people are sexually active at an earlier age compare to the previous generation, and there are several associated consequences. Sexual activity among adolescents is often associated with unprotected sex or use of ineffective methods of contraception. A large proportion of adolescents are suffering from sexual transmitted diseases (STDs) and girls become pregnant and young mothers. Given the increase in teenage pregnancies and the consequences on the quality of life of the young people, an intervention, is needed starting in the middle schools. According to a study done in late 2009 by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), a pro-choice organization, nationwide, teenage pregnancy rate was 71.5 pregnancies per 1,000 women ages 13 to 19 (Huffington Post 2010). Before intervention, however, it is essential to understand the factors underlying the premature and unprotected sex leading to unwanted pregnancies and STDs among adolescents. These risk factors include individual characteristics of adolescents as well as environmental factors. This paper will examine the reasons of pregnancy among teenagers and the consequences that are associated. Review of literature The teenage pregnancies occur more frequently, in the poorest neighborhoods, lower socio-economic backgrounds where young girls do not have many expectations from life. They are not concern about...
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...How many of you are under 21 and drink? I’ve heard that college is supposed to be the best four years of your life—we have classes that assign heavy workloads, work-study during the week, on the weekends we get to let loose and “turn up”, and that we will meet some of the best people here, along with finding out who we really are. Some of us think college is like what movies portray them; everybody’s drinking, smoking, and partying, with very little studying and barely any homework. The realities of college don’t set in until students encounter the coursework that presumably consume their time. Until then, college students tend to have more fun than they usually would back home because of the lack of parental supervision. During the first few weeks of college, students, especially freshmen, are at the highest risk of alcohol-related harm. With the pressures of classes and social acceptance, freshmen feel more anxious about making their way into the college life. "We see a spike then because anxiety is high, and the rigors of coursework haven't yet taken hold” (Cleveland). The drinking problem starts with the way college is portrayed—as a life that revolves around alcohol. Freshmen come in expecting it to be that way, so behave that way, the excessive drinking and reckless behavior are all mirrored from movies and media. According to national surveys conducted by Harvard School of Public Health, 44 percent of all college students binge drink and many suffer alcohol-induced...
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...Eng 122 Paul Wiltz October 15th, 2012 Drug Trafficking Methamphetamine in the United States I decided to do my research paper on drug trafficking methamphetamine in the United States. I chose this topic for two reasons, one because I have had a history of drug trafficking methamphetamines myself and another reason is because I am currently working on my BA in applied behavioral science to further my career in substance abuse counseling. A little bit about methamphetamines being transported from Mexico to the United States is DEA (drug enforcement administration) is trying to put a stop to Americans transporting drugs from Mexico to the United States. And with the DEA doing this Americans think that it would be safer to make methamphetamines in their own homes instead of taking the chance transporting the drugs from one state to another. So I plan on doing my research paper along the lines of the DEA cracking down on Americans transporting methamphetamines and Americans making or “cooking” methamphetamines in their homes, otherwise known as “meth labs”. My hypothesis is that Mexico is the major supplier to the United States for methamphetamines and many Americans are going to Mexico to get methamphetamines and transporting the drugs back to their city to distribute the drug to make money. After doing some research on the topic I found that “DEA has concluded that Mexico has become this country’s primary source of a category of drugs now flooding it”...
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...Communicable Disease Paper Felicia Pinckney HCS/457 January 24, 2013 Communicable Disease Paper In this paper the author was given an assignment by her instructor to write a paper on a communicable disease. The author has to describe the disease that she has chosen to write about and discuss different efforts to control the communicable disease. The author must include all data that she finds during her research on the communicable disease that she has chosen to write about, evidence- base interventions, and discuss plans to ensure quality of health. The author will identify available resources that will assist with the treatment and care of the communicable disease that the author has chosen to write about. The author will identify environmental factors related to the chosen disease. The author will discuss what kind of influence the communicable disease will have on a person’s lifestyle, socioeconomic status, and how to manage the disease. The author will identify gaps and methods for linking to other resources to meet the needs that are not locally available to the population. The author will include recommendations to expand community programs if there is a gap. In conclusion the author will proved three or more references. The communicable disease the author chose to write about is Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency (HIV/AIDS). HIV is a virus that is transmitted from one person to another person through the exchange of body fluids such as...
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...High-Risk Family Assessment and Health Promotion Paper Shova Rajbhandari NUR/542 April 23rd, 2012 Tracy Kramer MSN, RNC, FNP High-Risk Family Assessment and Health Promotion Paper For High risk family assessment: Intravenous Drug users (IDUs) family is chosen Common health issues /profile among members or families from this high-risk group: Drug abuse involves the regular taking of a deleterious or noxious quantity of any drug, prescribed or illicit over a period of time (Freidman, 2003). Those people who become severely drug dependent most often need specialized treatment in order to recover. A wide range of treatment is available through private sector and public sector. Recovery treatment centers usually incorporate the family into treatment plan, which makes it more effective in their treatment of the substance abuser. > HIV positive IDU and family members > IDU has a wide range of coinfections, coinfections, comorbidities and injecting related health issues. The common health problems in this IDU family are: • Infection with blood borne viruses, including hepatitis B, C and D (delta) leading to liver diseases • Bacterial infections: tuberculosis, bacterial pneumonia, • Alcohol dependence and alcohol-related liver disease • Poly substance dependence • Psychiatric comorbidity, including depression. • Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) • Local soft tissue and vascular injuries, including skin abscesses and...
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...Sex Education in Schools Anquavese Jones ENG/102 06/26/2011 Becky Wilfahrt Abstract Teenage sex education is a topic of much debate in America’s schools because sex and its health related issues are prevalent in the lives of so many adolescents. Teenagers’ engagement in sexual activities has led to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases, emotional and psychological injuries, and out-of-wedlock childbearing (Rector, 2002, para. 1). Therefore, schools across the nation have been charged with implementing programs that will educate the young about the risks of engaging in sexual activities before marriage. America’s schools use one of the two commonly known approaches in hopes to deter premarital sex. These approaches are abstinence education and comprehensive sex education. Abstinence education is a type of sex education that places strict emphasis on abstaining from sex until marriage. Comprehensive sex education examines abstinence along with sexual reproductive health education and contraceptives. This paper will examine both approaches and show that comprehensive sex education is the most effective method. Introduction Sex is a hot topic that reaches many children through the different mediums to include school, internet, radio, and television. An effective way to arm our children with important data concerning sex education is by providing abstinence education in our schools. According to Powezek, in the United States, maturation classes are usually implemented...
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...The topic covered in this research paper is abortion. This paper looks into the history of abortion, the pro-life view of abortion and the pro-choice view of abortion. Under history of abortion the information included is the time line of significant events of abortion such as becoming legal, also different ways in ancient times women would try to use abortions. The upgrading of technology making abortion safer and even if abortion was illegal women would still find a way to abort a baby are also covered under the history of abortion. Under pro-life choice for abortion looks into abortion murder, the rights of human and the rights of the unborn and that a women doesn't have a right to terminate her own fetus. Under pro- choice is the women's rights, and the rights to the women and also how abortion isn't murder due to the fact that fetuses cannot feel pain and how a women has a right to her own body and whether or not she decides she wants to carry a pregnancy to term. Introduction Conceiving a baby through a planned pregnancy can take many years, or it can take one meaningless night of excessive drinking and unprotected sex resulting in an unplanned pregnancy. There are many times when a women doesn't know she is pregnant until she visits the doctor, and since it is an unplanned pregnancy it leaves her with a hard, unwanted decision. She can chose to carry on with the pregnancy or choose to terminate it. Abortion is the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in...
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