NUR 4244 – Deliverable 6 – Communicable Disease Communication Document

HIV continues to impact society, particularly populations including racial and ethnic minorities and gay and bisexual men. According to the CDC, approximately 1.2 million people are living with HIV in the U.S., and about 1 in 7 don’t know they have it and need testing (“HIV in the U.S.,” 2020).

HIV is a preventable disease, in which effective prevention has been proven to reduce HIV transmission. According to Healthy People 2020, the majority of new infections are transmitted from people not yet diagnosed or are diagnosed but don’t care (“HIV,” 2020). Continuing to provide support and education to communities is important in decreasing the rate of transmissions. Despite the existence of medication and education to control HIV and reduce transmissions, HIV is still a leading cause of death in the world.

According to the CDC surveillance cases for HIV infections in the U.S., they have revised their surveillance data to respond to diagnostic issues, including diagnostic criteria, recognition of early infection, differences between infections, the staging system for adults/adolescents and children, and revision of criteria for reporting diagnoses without laboratory evidence (Selik et al., 2014). One important change made to their surveillance includes the addition of “stage 0”, which is based on negative and positive test results indicative of early HIV infection. This addition takes advantage of tests that are more sensitive during early infection than previously used tests, thus enabling the diagnosis of acute HIV infection. The addition allows for routine monitoring of the number of cases diagnosed within several months after infections, which includes the most highly infectious period where viral loads are extremely high, and interventions may be most effective in preventing further transmissions (Selik et al., 2014).

NUR 4244 – Deliverable 6 – Communicable Disease Communication Document

HIV is most frequently contracted at birth and during early adulthood. If transmission rates continue to increase, the epidemic may impact the demographic structure and the household structure of affected populations. HIV epidemics affect reproduction, which, combined with increased mortality, reduces the growth rate of the affected population. These reduced population rates further change the composition of the population and of households. Also, affected families and societies may react to their loss by bringing in new members or even by relocating (Heuveline, 2014). HIV also poses an impact on mental health in families affected by HIV. Children who have HIV-positive caregivers are at risk for a range of mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and social problems due to a disrupted parent-child relationship, fear, and misinformation (Betancourt et al., 2015).

Nurses play an important role in care management and adherence. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) management, such as initiation, support, and follow-up, are included in important competencies for nursing practice in HIV, which is an international best practice guideline according to the Canadian Association of Nurses in HIV/AIDS Care (Rouleau et al., 2019). These guidelines include recommendations that describe professional expectations, knowledge, and competencies that all nurses should have in order to provide evidence-based care to support both ART adherence and their own decision-making (Rouleau et al., 2019). Nurse-led interventions include tailored counseling, education, and reminders, which could enhance medication adherence for people living with chronic conditions.