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  • Essay / AIDS/HIV - 2295

    The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can be transmitted during unprotected sex, sharing of contaminated needles and syringes, from mother to child (perinatal) and contaminated blood products (National Association of Health Authorities, 1988). .1.2 RESEARCH PURPOSE Late diagnosis of HIV remains a major problem among black Africans in England. In 2007, about 42 percent of black Africans diagnosed with HIV were diagnosed late (HPA, 2008a). This compromises their chances of survival, as evidence indicates that starting treatment with a CD4 cell count below 200 copies/mm3 (a measure of the degree to which an individual's immune system is compromised) increases the risk of disease progression. illness and death (Gazzard, 2008). The reasons for late diagnosis among black Africans are unclear, but include persistent HIV-related stigma and discrimination (WHO, 2006). Fakoya et al. (2008) identified cultural, social and structural barriers, such as access to testing and care, fear of death and illness, lack of political will, restrictive immigration policies and lack of African representation in decision-making processes. understand the social context of the disease both in terms of migrants' region of origin and their new communities in the United Kingdom (UK). The UK government has yet to address the sharp rise in rates of the disease among heterosexuals and a new AIDS awareness campaign targeting those most at risk of spreading it is imperative. This is a campaign that the government is reluctant to undertake due to sensitivities around immigration, race and perceptions of neocolonialism (Chinouya and Davidson, 2003). of the article ......revealed that higher levels of knowledge, risk perception and having a friend or relative with AIDS were associated with effective behavior change (Sambisa 2008) . The idea behind personal experience or knowledge of an infected person is that for some people, HIV/AIDS does not become real, or denial is preferable, including denial of risk, until we witness a person sick or dying of AIDS. This means that attempting to change people's perception of risk so that they choose safe behaviors requires a detailed understanding of the culture, context of perception and experience of risk (Kesby et al., 2003). This is linked to the fact that "culture", in its anthropological sense, is a complex interplay of meanings, actions, structures and changes that exist within all social relations and in all social contexts (Mayisha II Collaborative Group 2005).