Drug Treatments for HIV/AIDS Example Paper

Discussion: Drug Treatments for HIV/AIDS
While HIV/AIDS is still currently incurable, the prognosis for patients with this infectious disease has improved due to advancements in drug treatments. Consider the case of Kristy Aney. Kristy was diagnosed with HIV in 1992 and was told she would survive, at most, 10 more years. Despite unfavorable odds, Kristy is still alive 20 years later. Since her diagnosis, she has witnessed tremendous improvements in HIV/AIDS treatments which have helped patients live longer with fewer side effects. While she acknowledges that these drug treatments have kept her alive, she fears that improvements in drug therapy have led to more people becoming complacent about the disease (Idaho Statesmen, 2012). In fact, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States is higher than it has ever been (CDC, 2012). This poses the question: Is there a relationship between drug advancements, societal complacency, and infection?

To prepare:
Review Chapter 49 of the Arcangelo and Peterson text, as well as the Montaner et al (2014) articles in the Learning Resources.
Reflect on whether or not the prevalence of HIV cases might be attributed to increased complacency due to more advanced drug treatment options for HIV/AIDS.
Consider how health care professionals can help to change perceptions and make people more aware of the realities of the disease.
Think about strategies to educate HIV positive patients on medication adherence, as well as safe practices to reduce the risk of infecting others.
With these thoughts in mind:

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By Day 3
Post an explanation of whether or not you think the prevalence of HIV cases might be attributed to increased complacency due to more advanced drug treatment options.Then, explain how health care professionals can help to change perceptions and increase awareness of the realities of the disease. Finally, describe strategies to educate HIV positive patients on medication adherence, as well as safe practices to reduce the risk of infecting others.
Arcangelo, V. P., Peterson, A. M., Wilbur, V., & Reinhold, J. A. (Eds.). (2017). Pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice: A practical approach (4th ed.). Ambler, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Chapter 8, “Principles of Antimicrobial Therapy” (pp. 111-134)

Chapter 49, “Human Immunodeficiency Virus” (pp. 843-860)

Drug treatments for HIV/AIDS

Avert Organization (2019) reports that in 2017, approximately 36.9 people were living with HIV across the world. This number included 1.8 million children with prevalence among adults reported at 0.8%. Additional review of the statistics shows that 25% of the infected persons are not aware of their status. During the same year, 940,000 persons with the condition died from disease related complications. Overall since the virus was first reported, 35.4 million fatalities have along with 77.3 million disease incidence. Comparing the fatality figures reported in 2017 to those reported in previous years shows a decreasing trend with 1.9 million deaths in 2004 and 1.4 million deaths in 2010. The decreasing fatality rates are against a backdrop of increase disease incidence (Avery Organization, 2019). These statistics could be attributed to increased complacence due to treatment availability. Treatment optimism appears to be a contributing factor to the increased adoption of sexually risky behaviors among persons with HIV, causing them to be less committed to safe sex and increase their risk compensation (Arcangelo et al., 2017). The implication is that there is a need to ensure that strategies are implemented to support treatment efforts without leaving room for complacency. Drug Treatments for HIV/AIDS Example Paper

Although HIV treatment is available that can slow down the virus replication rate, the reality is that the condition is best managed through infection. In fact, there is a need for medical personnel to address the over-optimism attached to anti-retroviral therapies that have made patients more complacent. The reality is that optimistic beliefs associated with treatment have increased risk behaviors that are counterproductive to the prevention and treatment efforts with the result that increased HIV transmission is reported. Given this awareness, there is a need for medical personnel to change public perception about HIV (Morton et al., 2017). To be more precise, they should address the misguided optimism that better treatment options are being presented thus making them less vigilant in adopting preventive measures thus counterbalancing treatment benefits and causing an increase in HIV transmission. This would occur through managing public perception about HIV treatment whereby medical personnel would proactively address the potential effects of treatment-associate beliefs on the risk of virus transmission with the intention of optimizing HIV treatment as prevention at the population level (Chen, 2013).

Even as HIV treatment is presented, there is a need to educate patients on medication adherence and safe practice as approaches that prevent virus transmission. The education would be conducted using five strategies. The first strategy is to simplify the regimen characteristics so that the prescribed medication matches the patients’ activities of daily living. For instance, prescribing longer acting medication for patients whose typical day includes a lot of tiring activities that could cause them to miss taking medication. The second strategy is to impart knowledge about the virus, medication and associated statistics. This informs the patients about the link between behavior and disease incidence, as well as the risks they face thus motivating adherence. The third strategy is to modify the patients’ behavior and beliefs using corroborated scientific proof collected from the more current research. This makes it easier for them to accept complex behavior change that includes taking medication as prescribed. The fourth strategy is to communicate with the patients in forums where they are allows to ask questions and seek clarifications concerning the virus and its treatment. The final strategy is to evaluate adherence to identify the best regimen for the patient. These strategies are anticipated to improve adherence (Davis & LaCour, 2014).

References

Arcangelo, V. P., Peterson, A. M., Wilbur, V., & Reinhold, J. A. (Eds.). (2017). Pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice: A practical approach (4^th ed.). Ambler, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Avery Organization (2019). 2017 global HIV statistics. Retrieved from https://www.avert.org/global-hiv-and-aids-statistics

Chen, Y. (2013). Treatment-related optimistic beliefs and risk of HIV transmission: a review of recent findings (2009–2012) in an era of treatment as prevention. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep., 10(1), 79-88. doi: 10.1007/s11904-012-0144-6

Davis, N. & LaCour, M. (2014). Health information technology (3^rd ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Morton, P. G., Fontaine, D., Hudak, C. M., & Gallo, B. M. (2017). Critical care nursing: a holistic approach (p. 1056). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Drug Treatments for HIV/AIDS Example Paper