I have chosen Las Vegas, Nevada as the community in which I will be identifying a current health issue. The health issue that I am referring to is HIV/AIDS because of all the local communities in Nevada, Las Vegas has the most number of cases. Since HIV is very rampant in Las Vegas compared to other communities in Nevada, we should think about the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention for this infectious disease and how nurses can further improve the effectiveness of their prevention activities in this area.
Primary prevention is concerned with uninfected people and how to educate them to not acquire the disease. Secondary prevention, on the other hand, is all about the activities that deal with HIV patients and those who are already infected to live a healthy lifestyle or at least keep themselves healthy. Secondary prevention can be of social, physical, or mental help. Tertiary prevention is concerned about reducing the effects of the disease to an HIV positive individual (“HIV prevention,” 2007).
Primary Prevention We mentioned earlier that primary prevention is concerned about preventing individuals by acquiring the disease. This can be done through education. With education, uninfected people can learn about abstinence, behavior change, and the use of condoms. This can be done through activities such as counseling, and focused group discussion. Through these activities, people that are HIV negative will learn to abstain from having sex especially to those individuals that they barely know.
They can also be taught on how to be mutually faithful. By sticking to only one partner, you can at least get to know your partner even more and there is lesser risk that you acquire the disease from other people. The use of condoms is also one of the most popular ways on how to prevent individuals from getting infected. Through this, there is lesser risk that the virus will spread because you are protected during sexual intercourse (Roux, 2007).
Specific activities of primary prevention include regular blood screening and testing to local communities, hospitals, and clinics, promoting the use of condoms, Post exposure prophylaxis, one-time use of needles and razors, and sex education especially to those who are unaware of the disease (Roux, 2007). Secondary Prevention As mentioned earlier, secondary prevention is all about identifying those who are already infected and reduce the harmful effects of HIV. Activities include, HIV antibodies testing in which the HIV positive patient will be able to know their status.
Welfare rights advice and lifestyle change can also be included in secondary prevention activities (Roux, 2007). Specific activities that support secondary prevention of HIV/AIDS comprise of counseling and testing, nutritional and social support, and access to self-help projects (Roux, 2007). Tertiary Prevention Tertiary prevention is concerned about reducing the risks of HIV positive individuals. Tertiary prevention includes economic empowerment, food security, legal support, and health benefits (Roux, 2007). How nurses can improve the effectiveness of prevention activities.
HIV nurses should explain clearly the pros and cons of the treatment of the disease. Also, nurses must be able to explain to HIV patients the different reaction of different bodies to different treatments. Another way is letting the people know about the symptoms of disease so that infected individuals can go for early treatment. They also must be able to explain the side effects of the treatment. They must also offer assistance in accessing to social support and counseling that concerns abstinence, substance abuse, birth control, and many other HIV-related factors (“HIV and hepatitis workshop,” 2007).
Lastly, nurses must be responsible in disposing needles and other sharp objects especially those that were already used to help in directly preventing the spread of the disease.
References: HIV and hepatitis workshop. (2007). Retrieved July 20, 2007, from http://www. mpaetc. org/fdc_06/clanon_hcv. ppt HIV prevention. (2007). Retrieved July20, 2007, from http://www. aidsmap. com/cms1009526. asp Roux, P. (2007). Prevention in HIV/AIDS. Retrieved July20, 2007, from http://www. synergyaids. com/TCD_Unit/EssMay04ppts/Kidzpositive. ppt.