Introducing the Health Issue
- HIV is a severe health issue.
- Over 36.9 million people have HIV worldwide (Bbosa et al., 2019).
- Australians also suffer from HIV.
- Male-to-male sex is a leading cause (Gunaratnam et al., 2019).
- Homosexual men and migrants are at risk.
HIV is a severe global health issue because almost 40 million people were infected in 2017 (Bbosa et al., 2019). That is why it is not surprising that Australians also suffer from this health problem. In particular, Gunaratnam et al. (2019) clarify that disease rates are high among men who experienced male-to-male sex and among migrants. These population groups are the most likely to be affected.
Risk Factors
- Modifiable risk factors refer to sexual behaviors.
- A condomless intercourse is a leading factor (Wright et al., 2017).
- Injection drug use also promotes the problem.
- Origin is a non-modifiable factor (Gunaratnam et al., 2019).
Modifiable and non-modifiable factors contribute to the spread of the problem. Condomless intercourse is a leading transmission path, while shared injection drug use also spreads HIV in Australia (Wright et al., 2017). Furthermore, many migrants come to Australia from sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV is widespread (Gunaratnam et al., 2019).
Impacts
- This disease significantly affects individuals.
- Diagnosis can cause shock, devastation, and anger (Bilardi et al., 2019).
- Social support helps overcome challenges.
- Over 40% earn less than $50,000 (Power et al., 2017).
An HIV diagnosis can impact individuals differently because some can experience shock, devastation, and anger, while others can manage this situation with social support (Bilardi et al., 2019). Simultaneously, the diagnosis is associated with economic burden because more than 40% in the study by Power et al. (2017) earn less compared to the average Australian household. The image by Power et al. (2017) demonstrates the income levels of HIV-positive individuals.
Challenges
- Many challenges influence HIV treatment.
- The figure below highlights medical ones (Smith et al., 2018).
- Insufficient knowledge is another challenge (Power et al., 2021).
Many challenges contribute to the fact that HIV treatment is insufficient. For example, Smith et al. (2018) highlight doctors often change treatment protocols because of comorbidities, new guidelines, and others. Simultaneously, Power et al. (2021) stipulate that many patients and healthcare professionals are unaware of HIV testing and treatment opportunities. Consequently, not all HIV-positive Australians have sufficient access to treatment options.
Australian Health Policy
- Australia has the Eighth National HIV Strategy.
- This document sets specific goals and targets.
- The Strategy promotes human rights, access, and others (Australian Government Department of Health, 2018).
In Australia, the Eighth National HIV Strategy by the Australian Government Department of Health (2018) is used to address, manage, and prevent HIV. This document relies on a few guiding principles, including human rights, access and equity, health promotion, prevention, quality of health services, and others. This Strategy aims at ensuring that at least 95% of all HIV patients in Australia are diagnosed and receive treatment (Australian Government Department of Health, 2018, p. 16). If these aims are achieved, HIV will become a less critical challenge for Australia.
References
Power, J., Brown, G., Lyons, A., Thorpe, R., Dowsett, G. W., & Lucke, J. (2017). HIV futures 8: Protocol for a repeated cross-sectional and longitudinal survey of people living with HIV in Australia. Frontiers in Public Health. Web.
Power, M., Dong, K., Walsh, J., Lewis, D. A., & Richardson, D. (2021). Barriers to HIV testing in hospital settings within a culturally diverse urban district of Sydney, Australia. Sexual Health, 18(4), 340-343. Web.
Smith, D. E., Woolley, I. J., Russell, D. B., Bisshop, F., & Furner, V. (2018). HIV in practice: Current approaches and challenges in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of HIV infection in Australia. HIV Medicine, 19, 5-23. Web.
Wright, E., Grulich, A., Roy, K., Boyd, M., Cornelisse, V., Russell, D. O’Donnell, D., Whittaker, B., Crooks, L., & Zablotska, I. (2017). Australasian society for HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexual health medicine HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis: Clinical guidelines. Journal of Virus Eradication, 3(3), 168-184. Web.