Brief Description of the Community that was Selected
Based on current records, it was noted that Kenya has the 4th largest HIV epidemic due to nearly 1.6 million people in the country living with HIV. The spread of the disease was noted by Wachira, Naanyu, Genberg, Koech, Akinyi, Kamene, and Braitstein (2014) as being the direct result of a lack of sufficient education regarding the spread of HIV and other STDs
Summary of Mini-Needs Assessment
With nearly 100,000 additional cases of HIV in 2012, the spread of HIV in Kenya has grown significantly dire to the extent that an immediate response to resolve the issue is needed. There is also a significantly low uptake of safe sex methods (i.e. condoms or regular blood screening) with nearly 50,000 people a year dying from HIV in Kenya.
Primary Socio-Ecological Factors Related to the Health Issue
When looking at the current issue surrounding the affected community, there are two specific socio-ecological factors that seem to affect the health issue, these consist of:
Current lack of social understanding regarding the spread of HIV:
One of the main problems when it comes to the community that is being examined is the lack of sufficient understanding regarding how an individual contracts HIV and how it is spread. From the work of Wachira et al. (2014), it was noted that the most common societal notion surrounding HIV was that it was a disease that is isolated towards people that engage in homosexual acts.
This misconception creates a social stigma against individuals that have contracted HIV to the point that many individuals within the community being investigated actively avoid testing themselves for HIV or even outright deny it even if they have contracted HIV. The end result is that this lack of social understanding and the negative connotations surrounding the infection make it harder for prevention methods to be put in effect.
Poverty and its Impact on Safe Sex Practices
Wachira et al. (2014) stated that rampant poverty in Kenya is one of the main causes behind the continued spread of the disease, as seen in 2012, where nearly 100,000 new cases were reported. The connection between poverty and the spread of HIV is connected to the fact that few people in Kenya actually practise safe sex through the use of condoms.
This is mainly due to societal misconceptions regarding the use of this contraceptive as well as the supposed cost associated with it. Wachira et al. (2014) went on further to state that of the 100,000 new cases reported in 2012, nearly 80 per cent of them originated from the poorer sector of the economy and showed a connection between poverty and the spread of HIV.
Types of Resources and Stakeholders
There is a fairly limited amount of resources available with the primary stakeholders in preventing the spread of HIV in Kenya taking the form of the Kenyan government as well as the World Health Organization (WHO).
Description of the Stakeholder Collaboration Strategy that will be used
The stakeholder strategy that will be utilized consists of launching an education campaign that focuses on enabling people from the community being examined to know more about how HIV is spread and how condoms can be utilized in order to protect themselves from contracting HIV. This program can consist of a travelling caravan that visits the various areas in the Kenyan community and actively attempts to educate as many people as it can. By doing so, it is hoped that this could lead to reduced instances of HIV in Kenya.
Reference
Wachira, J., Naanyu, V., Genberg, B., Koech, B., Akinyi, J., Kamene, R., & Braitstein, P. (2014). Health facility barriers to HIV linkage and retention in Western Kenya. BMC Health Services Research, 14(1), 475-491.