ABSTRACT
In this article the authors examined correctional policy and its impact on the incidence of HIV/AIDS in prison population. Using data from the Florida Correctional System, they find that HIV/AIDS is still the leading cause of death. Improved treatment and care may have led to declines in AIDS-related mortality but the prison population continues to experience a much higher risk of mortality than he general population in spite of changes in the treatment and provision of care to infected patients. The dominance of HIV-related deaths indicates that treatment and voluntary testing policy have been ineffective. The authors argue that the persistence of HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths is largely attributable to continuing unequal distribution of health care resources between identified and unidentified HIV-infected inmates. Their analysis suggests that future changes in HIV/AIDS policy ib testing and treatment can contribute to improvement in health conditions of infected inmates.
Subject(s)
AIDS Serodiagnosis , Cause of Death/trends , HIV Infections/epidemiology , HIV Infections/prevention & control , Organizational Policy , Prisons/organization & administration , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/diagnosis , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/epidemiology , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/mortality , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/prevention & control , Florida/epidemiology , HIV Infections/diagnosis , HIV Infections/mortality , Health Resources , Humans , Incidence , Mandatory Testing , Population Surveillance , Primary Prevention/organization & administration , Prisoners/statistics & numerical data , Voluntary ProgramsABSTRACT
The birth of the first child is a major transitional period for the new mother and her family. Social support that women receive seems to buffer the changes experienced during the postpartum period. However, very little is written about the social support of postpartum African American women. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the difference between social support expected prenatally, and that actually received postpartally in African American primiparous women. Data were collected utilizing a modified version of the Postpartum Social Support Questionnaire. Findings revealed no significant differences in the social support expected, and what was actually received postpartally. This sample was somewhat unique in that the women were educated with at least a high school education, with a mean age of 25, and possessed health insurance (access to health care). Future research utilizing the tool with larger samples should be conducted to further validate the reliability and validity of the tool.
Subject(s)
Black or African American/psychology , Postpartum Period/psychology , Social Support , Women/psychology , Adult , Black or African American/education , Educational Status , Family/psychology , Female , Health Services Accessibility , Humans , Life Change Events , Parity , Pilot Projects , Residence Characteristics/statistics & numerical data , Spouses/psychology , Surveys and Questionnaires , United States , Women/educationABSTRACT
Many studies examine HIV/AIDS and often there is a lack of consensus among researchers and policy-makers regarding the importance of mandatory or voluntary testing within a prison setting. This article revisits and extends this discussion by presenting arguments and issues related to testing inmates. A comparison of selected factors indicated that mandatory testing is an important adjunct to minimizing the impact of the spread of the virus both within prison and in the non-offender population. An important policy implication for adopting mandatory testing is that such a policy allows health care providers to intervene early and control the spread of the disease. Potential implications for future research and policy are discussed.
Subject(s)
AIDS Serodiagnosis/legislation & jurisprudence , HIV Infections/diagnosis , Mandatory Testing/legislation & jurisprudence , Prisoners , Health Policy , HumansABSTRACT
Vulvovaginal candidiasis is a miserable infection that affects millions of women each year. The purpose of this article's study was to investigate the effectiveness of an immediate treatment intervention for increasing the comfort level of women with vulvovaginal candidiasis. An experimental study using a sample of 20 women compared the comfort of a control group, which received routine care, to the comfort of the experimental group, which received routine care plus vaginal debridement followed by application of vaginal medication. The experimental group experienced greater relief from their symptoms post-treatment than did the control group. Implications for NP practice are presented.
