Background Information
Does Creating Awareness On Hiv/Aids Help In Reducing New Infection Among The Aboriginals And Torres Strait Islanders?
Background information
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, and it is a disease that affects the human immune system, which is the human defense system that fights against infections like bacteria and virus. If HIV attacks the body immune system, it becomes deficient failing to fight against diseases(Park, 2009). The virus is a microscopic type of germs which are hard to see even by use of a microscope. AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency Syndrome. When a person is infected with AIDS other opportunistic diseases takes advantage because of weakening of immune system(World Health Organization, 2015). According to WHO in 2015 there was close to 1.1 million people who died of AIDs across the Globe. In recent times WHO recommends that every country live to their commitment to ending AIDs, which is a public health threat by 2030(Brookmeyer, 2010). A reduction of 600,000 people by 2020 is the target which is the most recommended and which will leave at least 500,000 people dead from the most recent 1.1 million(Brookmeyer, 2010). Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders have the highest HIV prevalence among all Australians with recent 2017 notification at 6.8% compared to 3.1% of non-indigenous people per 100,000(Zablotska,Kippax, Grulich, Holt&Prestage, 2011). Australia is one of the most committed Countries of the world in fighting HIV transmission by 2020 through its seven national HIV strategy(Brookmeyer, 2010).
Conceptual framework(if using a qualitative study)
This study aims to investigate whether creating awareness on HIV/AIDS can help in reducing the spread of the epidemic(World Health Organization. 2015). The theory will adopt conspiracy theory of HIV/AIDS that states that some people believe that some influential powers are responsible for unexplained lousy lack(Bogart, Wagner, Galvan, & Banks, 2010). This theory will help to understand whether the existing beliefs can be used against the spread of the disease by making people understand that it is just a mere believe that HIV originated from some powerful influencers(Gupta et al., 2012).
- Study goals and objectives
- To determine whether creation of awareness can reduce the number of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders getting infected with HIV/AIDs yearly
- To recognize the extent of information reach to aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders through the internet and other media outlets in Australia on HIV/AIDS.
- To identify whether there are challenges associated with creating awareness on HIV/AIDS infection among teenagers
- Literature review
The main route for HIV/AIDS spread in Australia is through men sexual intercourse. The route accounts for 70% 2016 notifications, heterosexual sexual intercourse further notified 21%, injecting drugs and sexual intercourse between men accounted for 5%, where injecting alone accounted for 1% and 3% accounted for other unspecified causes(Bogart, Wagner, Galvan & Banks,2010). However, Australian total HIV diagnosis notifications account for the past four years remained stable as follows starting from the latest 2016: the notifications were 1,013 in 2016, 1,027 in 2015, 1,084 in 2014, 1,030 in 2013, and 1,066 in 2012(Gray et al., 2013). There is no research that shows a decrease in the overall spread in the past 10 years(World Health Organization, 2010). Shockingly, the latest diagnosis in 2016 demonstrated that the new tested were late, meaning had lived with the disease for four years without getting tested(Roberts, Holden, Duck, & Kitchener, 2015).
Conceptual Framework
The number of overseas-born diagnoses was highest in Central America with 45%, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa tying at 43%. A decline in proportion has also been experienced in the past decade with men-to-men sex (21%) or men-to-men sex and injection drug use at 25%(Sullivan et al., 2009). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders compared to non-Australians were more than half in 2016 HIV notifications of 6.4 versus 2.9 in every 100 000 people in a case that was based on 46 people. The 2012-2016 Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders’greater proportion of HIV were attributed to injecting drug use (14%) or heterosexual sex (20%) compared to non-indigenous and Australian-born (3% and 1%) respectively(Sullivan et al., 2009). In the same period, mother-to-child transmission rate among Australia was 2% compared to 28% in period ofbetween 1992 and 1996(Say et al., 2014).
In the past one decade, there has been significant effort by African government to fight HIV/AIDS epidemic through creating of awareness(Brookmeyer, 2010). These efforts has seen the government collaborate with private voluntary organizations, international development agencies, National AIDS control programs and other NGOs groups across Africa to devote energy, resources, and time to develop low-cost to reduce or if possible eradicate the spread HIV and AIDS (Negin et al., 2012).
Different programs have distributed AIDS badges, leaflets, stickers, and other kits to create awareness of HIV/AIDs. These paraphernalia contains messages that inform the people of dangers associated with HIV/AIDS and are most broadcasted on TVS and radio published on newspapers and magazines, displayed on billboards, and also through local entertainers’ engagement(Negin et al., 2012).
Primary question
Is creating awareness an effective way of reducing HIV/AIDS infections among aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in Australians?
Secondary questions
Why has HIV prevalence remained high among the indigenous people of Australia?
What are the some of the measures that the government and other partners taken to reduce new infection amongst the indigenous people of Australia?
Hypothesis
The indigenous people of Australia are not given enough attention by the Australian government and other stakeholders who create awareness of HIV/AIDS(World Health Organization, 2010).
Aboriginals have indecent behaviors which leads them to having high HIV prevalence notifications every year
Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders have very deep-rooted cultural practices that increases their risks of HIV infection
Quantitative research
The project will apply quantitative research design by use of internet resources and questionnaire hence avoiding the subjective risks errors that is likely to occur as a result of using disorganized qualitative research process. Quantitative research design will be more useful since it is more objective than qualitative design. The design will apply online survey technique and involve 10 focus groups around the university as a sample size of the study.
Research Question/Hypothesis
Internet is the primary source of the data used in this study as it contains important data from the world known scholars, experts, and researchers whose data are more reliable. Qualitative design will answer the question “who” is involved in creating awareness and who needs the awareness. It will also apply online survey where there is a large number of respondent will be involved to provide with information to analyze quantitatively.
This study will have limitations in terms of lacking moderation as it requires stimulus presented to be more functional without a need for interpretation from a moderator. The design also makes it difficult to prove the contributors in the moment during their responses.
The study will use sample size from the university ranging from 500-1500 of aboriginals, and Torres Strait Islanders who are seeking HIV test, HIV positive and those around local community and the university(Gray et al., 2013).
The data collection tool will be a questionnaire which are set of questions logically and sequentially prepared to take a respondent through a process of diverging information. The questions will be supplied to the respondent and picked after completion for better data management.
The analysis technique will involve scrutinizing of completed questionnaires and data obtained from internet, and the obtained information will help in coming up with charts, graphs, tables, percentages, and graphs derived by computer program, MS Word.
These limitations raises need to combine qualitative and quantitative to research designs to come up with the most build up strengths of both approaches(Zubricket al., 2010). This is because qualitative approach helps in understanding human behavior and also limited to grounds in which generalization of findings can be made(Park, 2009).
Based on the previous conducted on aboriginals in both clinical and community level we intend for quantitative approach to choose 50-500 aboriginals from each samples of HIV positive indigenous people, indigenous people seeking HIV test, and indigenous people in University and community at large(Gray et al., 2013).
Expected study outcomes
This study will be useful to add on the existing Australian knowledge on HIV prevention methods and apply it in its 2020 Seventh National HIV Strategy to totally eradicate HIV/AIDS. Our research will help the government reduce its cost incurred on treating the new cases of HIV every year(Lu et al., 2010).
Dissemination
The result will also be published in journal articles, newspapers, books and the internet to make it accessible to majority of stakeholders.
Research Design and Methodology
Project Duration
1st to 7th June 2018- Project topic
8th to 14th June 2018- Project background introduction
15st to 21st June 2018- Project need
22nd to 29th June 2018- Project objectives and implications
30th to 6th July 2018- Literature review
7th to 13th July 2018- Methodology
14th to 20th July 2018- limitations and evaluations
21st to 29th July 2018- recommendations and conclusion
Problem anticipated
It is likely that some participant may refrain from participating in the study due to the fact that most people blame the U.S. government of manufacturing HIV/AIDS to control the black population and for this reason it is possible to develop negative attitude towards the research(Bogart, Wagner, Galvan, & Banks, 2010). Aboriginals are also very negative about the government since they have been experiencing laws that deny them of some access to human rights(World Health Organization, 2010). However, the researcher will be able to apply interpersonal communication to increase the understanding of the importance of the research(Topp,Iversen, Baldry, Maher& Collaboration of Australian NSPs. 2013).
Ethics
The researcher considers ensuring that the research participants are voluntarily willing to participate in the study without being influenced in any way. The selection of the participants must also be equitable and able to protect the participants who are to be known by the research alone(Brookmeyer, 2010).The researcher also acknowledges the need of keeping all the participants’ information private and confidential to avoid stigmatization of individuals as well as avoiding legal consequences involved in privacy issues(Runciman, Merry & Walton, 2017). Other issues of integrity to data collection are highly put into consideration to ensure too little, or no fault of data collected is found during the scientific data analysis during the research(Heimer, 2013). The researcher also recognizes the right of research participant to withdraw from the research activities any time they feel uncomfortable or think so(Runciman, Merry & Walton, 2017). There is likelihood of participant need for psychological counseling before and after the research participation which also would increase the burden of research(Heimer, 2013). The researcher will also involve beable to frequently monitor the research participants and take steps to minimize negative effects of wrongly involvement to an argument with other colleaguesWorld (Health Organization, 2010). Well, thought out protocols will be involved in the study to protect safety and integrity of the study(Heimer, 2013). Other ethical consideration will include; compensation for any injury during the research participation, informed consent of the participants, etc.
Budget
- Hiring research Personnel (project coordinator, project manager, principal researcher, etc.) @$5000
- Travel expenses and accommodation costs: local travel $5,000, international travel with staff $ 15,000
- Hiring Research Equipment @ $20,000
- Materials, services, and Expendables $5,000
References
Bogart, L. M., Wagner, G., Galvan, F. H., & Banks, D. (2010). Conspiracy beliefs about HIV are related to antiretroviral treatment nonadherence among African American men with HIV. Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999), 53(5), 648.
Brookmeyer, R. (2010). Measuring the HIV/AIDS epidemic: approaches and challenges. Epidemiologic reviews, 32(1), 26-37.
Sullivan, P. S., Hamouda, O., Delpech, V., Geduld, J. E., Prejean, J., Semaille, C., … & Hughes,
- (2009). Reemergence of the HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men in North America, Western Europe, and Australia, 1996–2005. Annals of
Gray, R. T., Prestage, G. P., Down, I., Ghaus, M. H., Hoare, A., Bradley, J., & Wilson, D. P. (2013). Increased HIV testing will modestly reduce HIV incidence among gay men in NSW and would be acceptable if HIV testing becomes convenient. PloS one, 8(2), e55449.
Gupta, R. K., Jordan, M. R., Sultan, B. J., Hill, A., Davis, D. H., Gregson, J., … & Bertagnolio, S. (2012). Global trends in antiretroviral resistance in treatment-naive individuals with HIV after rollout of antiretroviral treatment in resource-limited settings: a global collaborative study and meta-regression analysis. The Lancet, 380(9849), 1250-1258.
Heimer, C. A. (2013). ‘Wicked’ethics: Compliance work and the practice of ethics in HIV research. Social science & medicine, 98, 371-378.
Lu, C., Schneider, M. T., Gubbins, P., Leach-Kemon, K., Jamison, D., & Murray, C. J. (2010). Public financing of health in developing countries: a cross-national systematic analysis. The Lancet, 375(9723), 1375-1387.
Negin, J., Nemser, B., Cumming, R., Lelerai, E., Amor, Y. B., & Pronyk, P. (2012). HIV attitudes, awareness and testing among older adults in Africa. AIDS and Behavior, 16(1), 63-68.
Park, B. J., Wannemuehler, K. A., Marston, B. J., Govender, N., Pappas, P. G., & Chiller, T. M. (2009). Estimation of the current global burden of cryptococcal meningitis among persons living with HIV/AIDS. Aids, 23(4), 525-530.
Roberts, N., Holden, J., Duck, T., & Kitchener, S. (2015). Health promotion steroids’: the value of an experiential approach to promote rapid HIV testing in NSW, Australia. Public Health Res Pract, 25(2), e2521522.
Runciman, B., Merry, A., & Walton, M. (2017). Safety and ethics in healthcare: a guide to getting it right. CRC Press.
Say, L., Chou, D., Gemmill, A., Tunçalp, Ö., Moller, A. B., Daniels, J., … & Alkema, L. (2014). Global causes of maternal death: a WHO systematic analysis. The Lancet Global Health, 2(6), e323-e333.
Topp, L., Iversen, J., Baldry, E., Maher, L., & Collaboration of Australian NSPs. (2013). Housing instability among people who inject drugs: results from the Australian needle and syringe program survey. Journal of Urban Health, 90(4), 699-716.
World Health Organization. (2015). World health statistics 2015. World Health Organization.
World Health Organization. (2010). World health statistics 2010. World Health Organization.
Zablotska, I. B., Kippax, S., Grulich, A., Holt, M., & Prestage, G. (2011). Behavioural surveillance among gay men in Australia: methods, findings and policy implications for the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmissible infections. Sexual Health, 8(3), 272-279.
Zubrick, S. R., Dudgeon, P., Gee, G., Glaskin, B., Kelly, K., Paradies, Y., … & Walker, R. (2010). Social determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing. Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice, 75-90.
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