Answer
Descriptive Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in USA
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Descriptive Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in USA
In 1981 HIV/AIDS was considered an epidemic in the United States of America. At the beginning of the pandemic, the life expectancy of infected persons was seven years. Today, infected people’s lifespan that began early treatment has increased thanks to research and new treatment options (Cairns 2010). Epidemiological approaches have increased our understanding of the dynamics of HIV/AIDS. Prevention and treatment provide numerous additions to pandemics management.
Approximately 1.2 million people in the USA are living with HIV. The number of people living with aids has increased radically since the epidemic was first discovered (Godley, Schoenbach, and Adimora 2020). The epidemic has obdurately persisted in minority sub-populations like the youth and homosexuals. The disease started among men having sex with men (MSM). Up until today, the population continues to be one of the most affected groups. Other groups of high prevalence include African Americans, Latinos, persons who inject hard drugs. Blacks account for almost half of the total number of people living with HIV.
Opportunistic diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia have drastically declined in the last thirty years. HIV related mortality has reduced over the past three decades (Eisinger and Fauci 20180). People living with the condition’s life expectancy is over twenty years, and only half of its population die from the disease. The reduction is attributed to the increased number of people undergoing antiretroviral therapy. Studies, however, show that morbidity and mortality rates occur with the aging population. Long exposure to antiretroviral causes complications and even death of infected persons.
Surveillance data were used in the measurement of the HIV pandemic. The method of data is preferred because it shows the extent of the disease (Woodyatt 2018). With the advancement in technology and time, obtaining data has expanded even to include specific opportunistic infections from laboratory tests. The morbidity monitoring project is another method of obtaining data on the pandemic.
Reference
Eisinger, R. W., & Fauci, A. S. (2018). Ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Emerging infectious diseases, 24(3), 413.
Godley, B. A., Schoenbach, V. J., & Adimora, A. A. (2020). Racial justice and HIV in the United States: now is the time. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 23(10).
Wang, R. J., Li, J. Q., Chen, Y. C., Zhang, L. X., & Xiao, L. H. (2018). Widespread occurrence of Cryptosporidium infections in patients with HIV/AIDS: Epidemiology, clinical feature, diagnosis, and therapy. Acta tropica, 187, 257-263.America. Nature, 539(7627), 98-101.
Woodyatt, C. R., & Rn, B. S. N. (2018). Annals of Epidemiology World AIDS Day 2018.
Worobey, M., Watts, T. D., McKay, R. A., Suchard, M. A., Granade, T., Teuwen, D. E., … & Jaffe, H. W. (2016). 1970s and ‘Patient 0’HIV-1 genomes illuminate early HIV/AIDS history in North
Question
HIV/AIDS was first recognized as an epidemic in the United States in 1981. At the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, the life expectancy for infected persons was less than 7 years. Today, because of research and new treatment options, people who begin treatment soon after diagnosis can expect to live a nearly normal life span (Cairns, 2010). The HIV/AIDS epidemic was identified through descriptive epidemiology.
Descriptive epidemiologic studies are often conducted as precursors to analytic studies. Epidemiologic concepts are used to gather data to better understand and evaluate health trends in populations. Data such as characteristics of the persons affected, place where an incident occurred, and time of occurrence are collected and analyzed to look for patterns in an effort to identify emerging health problems. In this Discussion, you will apply the epidemiologic concepts of time, place, and person to a specific population health problem.
To prepare:
Consider a variety of population health problems, and then select one on which to focus for this Discussion.
Identify a specific population affected by your selected health problem.
Research the patterns of the disease in your selected population using the epidemiologic characteristics of person, place, and time.
Explore three to five data sources presented in the Learning Resources that could aid you in describing the population and magnitude of the problem. Analyze the strengths and limitations of each data source.
Consider methods for obtaining raw data to determine the variables of person, place, and time for your health problem. Ask yourself: How would the methods I select influence the accuracy of case identification, definition, and diagnosis?
Post a cohesive response that addresses the following:
Evaluate your selected health problem in the population you identified by describing three to five characteristics related to person, place, and time.