National News  | Professors Explore End-of-Life Needs for HIV/AIDS Patients in Appalachian Region UNITED STATES :: HIV/AIDS
Tennessee Today (Univ. of TN) (07.23.2013) | | | A new two-year study, funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Nursing Research, will examine what services are lacking for residents of the Appalachian regions of Tennessee and Alabama who are dying from HIV/AIDS. According to Sadie Hutson, the project’s principal investigator, “End-of-life planning and care are especially critical in high-prevalence areas of the United States, such as Southern Appalachia; yet very little is known about the needs or the availability of end-of-life services for those in this region.”
The research team, which includes professors from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, will conduct one-on-one interviews with patients to assess conditions that affect end-of-life needs, such as lack of health services, poverty, unemployment, geographic hardships, insurance issues, and insufficient education. “This study is one of the first to investigate the contribution of the unique Appalachian culture and beliefs about end-of-life care in an area that has historically been underserved with regard to healthcare services,” Hutson said.
The $420,000 study hopes to develop a map that will pinpoint service locations and show disparities in the quantity, quality, and access to those locations. Future health strategies then could compare what services were needed—such as hospice care, specialized healthcare, and psychological services, among others—with what already existed. “This study will set the stage for developing and testing interventions aimed at increasing accessibility, cultural appropriateness, and acceptability and utilization of services, as well as increasing provider awareness of the particular needs of the population and its subgroups,” said Hutson.
|  Read Full Article | Share this Article     | | Back to Top  |  | | International News  | 10,500 People Die from Tuberculosis Every Year in Afghanistan AFGHANISTAN :: TB
Khaama Press (07.31.2013) :: By Ahmad Masoud | | | According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Afghanistan reported 10,500 TB deaths annually, making it one of 22 countries with the highest TB burden in the world. WHO also reported that Afghanistan diagnosed 53,000 new TB cases annually. The majority of new TB infections (66 percent) occurred among women, and children accounted for 10 percent of new TB cases. Experts attributed Afghanistan’s high TB incidence to poverty, inadequate working and living conditions, lack of access to healthcare and medications, security issues, and lack of TB awareness. Many Afghans believed that TB was incurable.
Afghanistan has had some success in implementing the Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) strategy to treat TB. Ninety-seven percent of Afghans had access to DOTS in 2011, compared with 14 percent in 2002. Close to 1,200 Afghan health facilities offered DOTS in 2011, compared with 10 facilities in 2000. DOTS implementation required sustained resources to ensure diagnosis by sputum-smear microscopy, short-course anti-TB treatment under direct observation, an uninterrupted supply of high-quality TB medicines, and standardized reporting.
Based on DOTS successes, WHO developed the “Stop TB Strategy” to address six challenges countries face in eliminating TB globally: sustaining and expanding DOTS; addressing TB/HIV coinfection, multidrug-resistant TB, and other special challenges; strengthening health systems; engaging healthcare providers; empowering patients and communities; and promoting TB research.
Since the majority of Afghans live in rural areas and have little understanding of TB, Afghan experts also recommended the country develop a national TB communication strategy to increase TB awareness and promote TB-safe behavior. Research methods used in developing the communications strategy should include knowledge, attitude, practices, and beliefs; focus groups; and participatory rural appraisal techniques. Research also should focus on women and girls, who traditionally carry out household tasks in unhygienic environments and have higher TB burden. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | Medical News  | Bacterial Vaginosis Is Associated with Higher Risk of Female-to-Male Transmission of HIV AFRICA :: HIV/AIDS,STDs
Science Codex (06.26.2013) | | | Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is an imbalance of naturally occurring vaginal micro-organisms caused by a decrease in normal helpful bacteria and an increase in harmful bacteria. BV increases women’s risks of acquiring HIV and other STDs as well as experiencing pre-term delivery. Also, HIV-infected women with BV might have higher levels and greater shedding of HIV from the cervix and vagina.
Craig R. Cohen, MD, MPH, professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues investigated the association between BV and HIV transmission in a study of 2,236 HIV-infected women from seven African countries and their uninfected male partners. The researchers controlled for sociodemographic factors, sexual behavior, male circumcision, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, and level of HIV in the blood of the HIV-infected women.
Results showed that risk of female-to-male HIV transmission was three times higher for HIV-infected women with BV than for HIV-infected women without BV. Researchers could not account for the result. The researchers acknowledged the need for more research to improve BV diagnosis, and treatment to improve women’s health and decrease HIV transmission, especially in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa, which has both the world’s highest HIV burden and a high BV incidence.
The full report, “Bacterial Vaginosis Associated with Increased Risk of Female-to-Male HIV-1 Transmission: A Prospective Cohort Analysis among African Couples,” was published in the journal PLoS Medicine (2012; 9(6): e1001251. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001251). | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | Local and Community News  | Sex Education Program That Teaches Financial Consequences Wins Award IOWA :: HIV/AIDS,STDs
Radio Iowa (07.30.2013) :: By Pat Curtis | | | The “Parenting: It’s a Life” program, a sex education program used by many Iowa middle and high schools, will receive a 2013 Excellence in Program Awareness award on August 5 from the Virginia-based National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA). Iowa State University’s Department of Human Development and Family Studies Department, the Iowa Department of Human Services Child Support Recovery Unit, and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office collaborated to develop the program.
Whereas traditional sex education classes addresses reproductive biology, contraception, and STDs, “Parenting: It’s a Life” focuses on the financial realities of teen pregnancy. Program Coordinator Kate Goudy-Haht explained that most teens did not realize that 40 percent of teen parents and their children lived in poverty or that raising a child through the age of 18 could cost more than $100,000.
Goudy-Haht stated the NCSEA award recognized the program’s strong partnerships with state agencies and Facebook and Web site outreach efforts with students and teachers. The program also created a monthly e-newsletter—sent mostly to family consumer science teachers, counselors, and health teachers—and distributes an informational poster to all Iowa middle and high schools. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | | News Briefs | | | | | Free Hepatitis Screening and Vaccination Camp Held INDIA :: Viral Hepatitis
New Indian Express (07.29.2013) | | | As many as 700 Indian students received free hepatitis B screening and vaccinations on World Hepatitis Day last Sunday in a program organized to raise awareness and save lives. A team of 20 post-graduate students from India’s Omayal Achi College of Nursing provided education and immunizations at a special “camp.” Dr. V. Santharam, vice chancellor at Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, said that hepatitis B affected one-third of India’s population, and approximately 15 percent were critically ill. He also discussed the importance of getting vaccinated and the best time to receive the vaccine. The Indian Society of Gastroenterology, Tamil Nadu Chapter, the World Gastroenterology Organization, and volunteer health organization Ramakrishna Mission sponsored the initiative. Swami Satyajnanananda, secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Students’ Home, emphasized the importance of awareness and education and told the students they needed to be informed about hepatitis and to share this information with others. Anandan from Tiruthani, one of the participants, said he was not educated about hepatitis before attending camp. “I understood what it is after I attended the function. I will definitely get vaccinated,” he said.
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7/31/2013
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