Abstract

Thepaper analyses the HIV/AIDS situation in Guyana and the measuresbeing taken to deal with the problem. The various players incountering the epidemic and their roles have been researched on. Theresearch methods employed include the use of interview and secondarydocuments. A self-reflection and consultation statements areincluded.

Researchon HIV/AIDS in Guyana

Guyanais a South American country that is considered as part of theCaribbean. Recent research on the HIV/AIDS prevalence in the countryhas put the percentage of infections at about 1% in a population ofabout 700,000 people. That statistic puts the country at the secondhighest HIV infection rate in the Western Hemisphere (Victor). Thisinteresting statistic captured my interest, and I set to find outwhat was driving such high infection rates in the seemingly unknowncountry, second only to Haiti. In this research paper, I looked atthe definition of HIV/AIDS to introduce what I will be researchingabout. I have also considered the government’s contribution indealing with the epidemic. This research paper has also highlightedthe various ways of treating and preventing the disease with the aimof reducing the high infection rate. I have also considered theeffects of this intervention, including the prevention and treatmentprocess and the resulting trends in the country over the years. Thefindings of this paper prove that the epidemic is now moremanageable. This is regarding the treatment and the great reductionin stigmatization and deaths associated with the virus.

Body

HIV/AidsDefinition

HIV/AIDS,which is an abbreviation for Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus/ AcquiredImmune Deficiency Syndrome is an immune system deficiency virus. Wheninfected, the victim suffers a weakened immune system, and thisconsequently makes him/her more susceptible to other diseases. Thevictim’s body becomes unable to fight or resist other infections(Global AIDS Response Progress Report).

Transmission

Thisvirus is highly infectious where bodily fluids come into contact. Onecan become infected with HIV/AIDS through:

-Sexual intercourse

-Blood transfusions

-Sharing needles and other body piercing or cutting tools.

-From mother to child during pregnancy (Global AIDS ResponseProgress Report).

Symptoms

Wheninfected, a weakened immune system is difficult to notice since it isinternal. However, there are physical signs that a person is infectedwith the virus. These physical signs of the disease are:

-Rapid weight loss

-Unexplained and extreme tiredness

-Pneumonia

-Lasting diarrhea

-Recurring fever

-Painful sores often located on the mouth, genitals, and anus.

-Swelling in the armpits, neck or groin (Global AIDS ResponseProgress Report).

StatisticalBackground

Afterconducting my initial research on the disease, I found out that thefirst reported case of an HIV infection was in 1987. All the victimsin these initial cases were homosexuals. The research also found outthat most of the victims are people in areas considered to beinterior. This includes areas occupied by logging and miningcommunities. The high prevalence levels among these areas have beencaused by lack of capital, limited resources, inaccessibility ofthose areas and lack of health facilities and personnel. This hasmade it difficult to counter the spread of the infection (GuyanaTimes).

GovernmentResponse

Thegovernment of Guyana has invested heavily to curb the spread ofHIV/AIDS in the country. After much lobbying and advocacy from theNGOs and health workers on the unchecked infection rates, thegovernment reacted by passing various legislations. These actionsinclude the creation of the National AIDS Program (NAP) in 1989.Consequently, this program led to the development of GenitourinaryMedicine (GUM), National Blood Transfusion Services (NBTS) and theNational Lab for Infectious Diseases (NLID) (Global AIDS ResponseProgress Report).

Otherorganizations formed include the NAP secretariat in 1992, which dealtwith the co-ordination of epidemic response and the National AidsCommittee (NAC) in 1992, which promoted and implemented policies inclose co-operation with the health ministry and AIDS committees. In2005, the presidential commission on HIV/AIDS (PCHA) was tasked withco-coordinating all agencies.

Toincrease resources at their disposal, the above organizations workclosely with other partners. These partners include:

-Community-based organizations, which offer psychosocial support toimprove quality of life

-Non-governmental organizations like the Guyana business Coalitionon HIV, which provides nutritional needs

-International organizations, examples include the Pan-CaribbeanPartnership (PANCAP), Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS(UNAID), United States Agency for International Development (USAID),United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organizations(UNESCO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Theseinternational organizations help in mobilizing communities andoffering technical assistance to the affected.

Pillarsof Eliminating AIDS Epidemic

Thereis a need to counter the spread of the disease and help regulate andreduce the high infection rates in the country. To do this, thegovernment in conjunction with all its partners identified threepillars. They are treatment, prevention and eliminatingstigmatization and discrimination. These pillars are discussed belowin detail.

Treatment

Ifound out that the most preferred choice of treatment among thevictims is the antiretroviral drugs. This treatment method started in2002. The first line of treatment involves three types of ARV drugs,that is, Stavudine, Lamivudine and Nevirapine. This medication isoffered by the Genitourinary Medicine Clinic at Georgetown hospital.However, other donor-supported sites in different regions of thecountry also offer these drugs at an average cost of US $ 2095 forfirst line treatment (Guyana Times).

Prevention

Itis a common saying that prevention is better than cure. In Guyana,they achieve this by initiating changes in the public behaviorthrough information, communication, workshops, and education. Theyalso have started several safety programs entailing blood safety,condom distribution, proper nutrition and Voluntary counseling andtesting (VCT).

Stigmaand discrimination

Themain problem that victims of the infection face is being stigmatizedand discriminated by the society. To counter this challenge, severalinitiatives have been put in place in Guyana. The Every Woman, EveryChild initiative is one example. It helps in addressing humantrafficking and creating awareness in adults to protect children’srights. They make use of community champions to achieve thisobjective. Another initiative is the Justice for all which wasstarted in 2013 by PANCAP. It enhances family life, gender rights,and treatment access.

Anotherinitiative involves addressing women’s issues of violence andinequality and putting in place policies in the workplace toeradicate discrimination against individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS.Examples include wellness programs and counseling services.

Statistics

Accordingto O`toole, Mcconkey, Casson, Goetz-Goldberg, and Yazdani, the trendsin the annual number of HIV and AIDS cases show that HIV cases werefluctuating up until 2009 after which they dropped. On the otherhand, AIDS cases have decreased since 2001 up to 2014.

Progress

Thenumber of infected people on treatment has increased from 7-8 % in2001 to around 50 % in 2012. This has translated to about a 70 %reduction in the number of AIDS-related deaths (Guyana Chronicle).

Longterm objective

By2030, Guyana intends to eliminate the HIV/AIDS epidemic completely.To achieve this, in the long run, they have identified five focusareas that they need to concentrate on. These areas are thecoordination, prevention, treatment, care and support and strategicinformation. This long-term objective will require huge finances tohelp budget for all undertakings. The country has, however, laid outplans that involve overcoming these financial constraints through aidfrom the international community (Guyana Times).

Conclusion

Thisresearch paper analyzed the HIV/AIDS situation in Guyana in detail.The findings showed a positive response from the local andinternational community in dealing with the menace. The approach,technique, and design employed by this presentation was direct andclear and accurate information was communicated.

InterviewSummary

Iemployed the use of interviews in my research process. Interviewsassist in getting additional information for any given task. Ipresented my work to five selected respondents who carried out ashort interview to address the following issues:

1.The accuracy of the presentation in relation to the HIV/AIDS issue discussed

2.Determining if there were important issues missed and thereforethe need for improvements in my presentation

3.Their perception on the HIV/AIDS issue in Guyana.

4.The likelihood of this HIV/AIDS health situation improving

5.Other comments or questions they may have pertaining to the issueresearched on.

Imade sure I had a diverse range of participants for the purpose ofreducing bias and improving the accuracy of the responses. In mygroup of respondents, I had a family member, a friend, a communitymember and two medical students, one local and the otherinternational.

Afterconducting the interviews, the respondents gave warm responses inrelation to my presentation. On the matter of accuracy, they agreedthat due to the time factor, I did my best in the 10 minutes and thepresentation was good. However, they pointed out that I had failedto include the contributions of the various organizations andcountries working with Guyana in countering the epidemic. That was anarea that they concluded needed some improvement. When I asked themabout their perception of this issue, they collectively actedsurprised at the rate of HIV infection in Guyana. They did notrealize it was this high. The, rates they were more familiar withincluded malaria, suicide and yellow fever. On the future progress,the respondents were optimistic that HIV/AIDS is controllable andmanageable. They, however, admitted that it may not be possible toentirely eradicate the epidemic. When I questioned them on why theythought so, the reason they gave was that this issue was not limitedto Guyana only but it was a global problem. Finally, since most ofthem were potential health professionals, they were looking forwardto being involved in the future attempts at helping Guyana fight thisdisease.

Reflection

WhenI carried out this research and presentation it aroused mixedfeelings in me. I was sympathetic at the high rates ofHIV/AIDSinGuyana and at the same time, was encouraged by the way thepeople of that country choose to deal with the situation. Afterself-evaluation I was satisfied with how I conducted everything. Ilearnt a lot from my experiences in the research process. Thepresentation and interview skills I learnt from the research processwere complimented by the knowledge I acquired in dealing withnational epidemics like HIV/AIDS. The research has also enabled me tounderstand more about HIV/AIDS as a global health issue. I havelearned that the epidemic is an issue in most countries and that itrequires the close cooperation of world governments, internationalorganizations and the general public in dealing with it.

Statementof consultation

Iconsulted my research coach in conducting my research and preparingmy presentation. I would like to acknowledge his assistance in theselection of my interviewees for the sake of reducing bias, and forhelping me with my presentation. He helped equip me with appropriatepresentation skills that will be of importance to me in future. Healso guided me on how to employ good and efficient interview methods.

Workcited

GlobalAIDS Response Progress Report: Republic of Guyana. Rep. N.p.: n.p.,2014. Print.“ Guyana committed to eliminating HIV/DIDS by 2030.”Guyana Times. N.p. Jun. 2016. 5 Mar 2017.

Ng,Victor. &quotAIDS and Guyana.&quot&nbspUniversity of WesternOntario Medical Journal 78.1 (2013): n. pag.Web. 5 Mar. 2017.

O`toole,B. J., R. Mcconkey, K. Casson, D. Goetz-Goldberg, and A. Yazdani.&quotKnowledge and attitudes of young people in Guyana toHIV/AIDS.&quot&nbspInternational Journal of STD &amp AIDS&nbsp18.3(2007): 193-97. Web. 5 Mar. 2017.

&quotRemarkableprogress` seen in fight against HIV/AIDS in Guyana.&quot&nbspGuyanaChronicle. N.p., Sept. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2017.

Abstract

Videogames have beenusedas a source of entertainment for young people around the world. Astechnology advances, these games are becoming more real with highuser interaction. Many actual games and activities have beenincorporatedin the gaming industry through virtual reality and interactive gamingtechnology. Latest health research has discovered a new use for videogames in the health profession. This paper will discuss how differentvideo games have beenusedin rehabilitating patients with differentmedical conditions. The paper looks at the techniques that have beenincorporated in online games and apps to make them effectivefor medical therapy. Game developers made games with high usermobility. Therapeutic approaches that have been set by medicalpractitionersfor different medical conditions based on the ailing body parts arediscussed.

Keywords:Medical therapy Video games Therapy Exercise Rehabilitationtherapeutic approach

VideoGames in Medical Therapy

Thehealth sector has seen a lot technological advancement over the pastdecade. Thishas come with computerization of medical facilities and medicalprocesses. Video gaming is one the technology that has found its wayin rehabilitation and treatment of some medical conditions.Conditions such as stroke, Parkinson’s,and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require aparticulartype of therapy to stabilizethem. Virtual games with high user motion have been used to givephysical exercise to patients as part of their therapy.Apart from entertaining, video games motivates patients, makes themflexible,and also it helps to distract patients in pain (Annema et al.,94)

VideoGames in Medical Therapy

Everymedical condition has a specific therapeutic requirement that ismeant to counter the diagnosed conditions. Thisforms the basisof video game selections by the medical therapist. The game selectedmust involve the motion of aparticularpart that requires physical rehabilitation (Annema et al.,94). Parkinson’s is a disease that attacks the nervous system andaffects cognition and movement of body muscles and limbs. To counterthis disorder,medical game developers have made games that aid to improve thebrain`scognitive ability and limbsmovement.Video game selection for these disordersaimedat improving themovementof limbs,increase the speed of reaction by the brain and reducing the timebetween stimulation and action. The expected solutions for thistherapeutic approachare that the brain cognition speed would improve and the body wouldbecome more flexible (Pompeu et al.,2).

Videogame technology has also beenusedin stroke rehabilitation. According to Alankus and Kelleher, recoveryfrom stroke requires a repetition of the sametype of exercise many times (2049). Like Parkinson, stroke affectsmotor control and reduced cognitive ability. Video games designed toimprove motor control in stroke patients by providing a repetition ofthe same exercise over and over until the patient recovers (Alankusand Kelleher, 2049). Aspecialfocus is required in designing games for stroke patient becauserepetitive exercisefrom the gamemay leadto the developmentof new completions resulting from moving untargeted body parts. Thetherapeuticapproach of creating games to rehabilitate stroke must discourage anycompensatory movements. Thisisdoneby ensuring the game makes the patient focus more on moving theintended body part rather than the compensatory body part. A lot offocusshould be on detecting any compensatory actions while the patient isplaying and trying to collect them before they create any additionalproblem.

Aspeople become old, diseases such as arthritis and osteoporosis becomemore prevalent (Yuen, Lutteroth and Wunsche, 74). Thesediseasesarecharacterizedby stiff joints and lowmotor control, which limits mobility. Old people are quite choosywhen it comes to videogames.Thereforevideo game developers must make games targeting old people (Yuen etal.,73). Bowling is one of the games that have been made virtual throughvideo games,and it is a game that can identify well with the old people. Thisgame helpsthe player improve the motorability of their upper limbs just like in the real outdoor bowling.Penguin Toss video game has been designed to help the elderlyexercise their forearms, triceps,and biceps making them strongand flexible.

AutismSpectrum Disorder (ASD) is a first growing disorderamong American children (Hiniker, Daniels, Williamson, 403). Thiscondition causes slow brain response which then leads to difficultyin communication and slow development. This condition can becontrolledthrough behavioral and communication therapies. These therapies arefacilitated by a speciallydeveloped video game that aims at improving the child skills (Hinikeret al. 463). The therapeutic approach taken in making video games forASD patient should make them independent by improvingbrain development and teaching them life skills.

Everymedical condition has aspecifictherapeutic approach that aimsto rehabilitate the disorder as well as holistic body healthimprovement (Annema et al.,95). Conditions that limits motion, for example,Parkinson’s disorder,stroke, arthritis,and osteoporosis, aretreatedby following approaches that improve motor ability and limbsstrength. Video games that actualize these therapies may involve limbmovement such as bowling and Penguin Toss (Yuen, 75). Thecompensatorymovementshouldbe addressed to minimize unintended movement,especially for stroke patients. The games should be interesting tofor the target group. According to Yuen elal., old people find it easy to play video games they once played,for example,golf, bowling or wheel of fortune (74). Video games should alsoaddress the patient’s cognitive ability, give them skills andimprove their physical condition. Thistherapeuticapproach isusedfor conditions kike ASD, stroke, Parkinson as well as elderlyhealthcare (Hiniker, 463 Yuen, 74 and Pompeu, 3).

Therapeuticapproaches meant to addresshealthcarefor the elderlyare widely successful.The video games designed to exercise specific body parts achievesmost of the desired goals. According to Yuen et al.,game such as Penguin Toss and Bowling are feasible as an exercisetool (76). In stroke rehabilitation, a lot of focus has beenputon minimizing compensation while playing video games. Allankus andKelleher (2058), state that there is no real success realized instroke rehabilitation. Minimal success has beennoticedwhen compensatory movements areexcluded.Thishas created a benchmark for future creations by video game developers(Allankus and Kelleher, 2058). Kinetic games improve motor andcognitive ability of Parkinson’s patients. Postural control ofParkinson’s patients through video games is a successful approach.It makes them improve stability throughoptical, vestibular and cervical stimulation (Pompeu et al.,3). For ASD, the effectivenessof the therapeutic approach has beenrealized.Videogames such asGogogameshave beenappliedin more than 80 countries. Thismeans that the adoption of these approachesis at the inception stage. Of all the people who have downloaded thevideo game, nearly half of them recently played it. Thisis apositiverecord however, it does not conclude the effectiveness oftherapeutic approach applied (Hiniker et al.,466).

Accordingto Annemaet al.(97), use of video games in medical therapy has necessitated moredevelopment and innovation in this field. While video games have beenused in medical therapy,a lot of its potential has not beenrealized.In the rehabilitationof stroke, the focusneedsto beshiftedto therapeutic approaches that are meant to improve motor capacitywhile addressing compensation movements. In futurethe effectiveness of approachesthat focus on healthcare for the elderly, postural control ofParkinson patients and video games for ASD patients need to berealized by collecting data from a significant sample data (Hinikeret al.,466 Pompeu et al.,3 Yuen, 76). Researchers are looking to address other hapticfeedbacks relating to stroke rehabilitation as well as exploring theused of hepatic feedback (Allankus and Kelleher, 2057). Reducingcompensatory motion in stroke has given insight intoother therapeutic approaches such use audio feedback (Allankus andKelleher, 2057).

Conclusion

Videogame technology has revolutionized the treatment of some medicalconditions by facilitating therapy. This paper has addressed sometherapeutic approaches which have been used to rehabilitateconditions such as Parkinson, ASD, stroke,and healthcare for the elderly. Mostof the approaches taken to rehabilitatethe medicalconditionsare successful,however, a lot of improvement isrequiredin improving their effectiveness.

WorksCited

Alankus,Gazihan and Caitlin Kelleher. &quotReducing compensatory motions invideo games for stroke rehabilitation.&quot&nbspProceedingsof the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.ACM, 2012.

Annema,Jan–Henk, et al. &quotVideo games in therapy: a therapist`sperspective.&quot&nbspInternational Journal of Arts and Technology&nbsp6.1(2012): 106-122.

Hiniker,Alexis, Joy Wong Daniels and Heidi Williamson. &quotGo go games:therapeutic video games for children with autism spectrumdisorders.&quot&nbspProceedingsof the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design andChildren.ACM, 2013.

Pompeu,José Eduardo, et al. &quotEffect of Kinect games on posturalcontrol of patients with Parkinson`s disease.&quot&nbspProceedingsof the 3rd 2015 Workshop on ICTs for improving PatientsRehabilitation Research Techniques.ACM, 2015.

Sunwoo,Juyoung, et al. &quotMobile games for elderlyhealthcare.&quot&nbspProceedingsof the 11th International Conference of the NZ Chapter of the ACMSpecial Interest Group on Human-Computer Interaction.ACM, 2010.

Abstract

ABSTRACT 3

Nameof Student

AffiliateInstitution

Mentalhealth has been a long-standingissue in correctional facilities as a consequence of the feelings ofguilt and confusion when prisoners discover the magnitude of theircrime. This project sets out to research the mental health ofindividuals in correctional facilities withthe aim ofcreating solutions and therapeutic strategies, which can beappliedtoimproving the overall psychological conditions of the prisoners. Thisis meant to be carried out to ensure that prisoners have an improvedmental state when they are leaving the correctional facilities tominimize their chances of continuing to engage in crime(&quotSAGE Publications Inc&quot, 2017).It is a proven fact by statistics that individuals who commit capitalcrimes, which are considered to be heinous in society are more likelyto suffer from mental health conditions. Pursuitofthis evidence, it is critical that elaborate mechanisms areestablishedto improve the mental health of individuals who have committedcapital crimes. The expected outcome of this project is a propermethodology, which ensures that the medical staff in correctionalfacilities canwork jointly with the prisoners to formulate solutions for theirmental health problems.

Forthe project to be successful, it is expected to attract support fromthe department of health, the American Nursing Association and theNational Commission of Correctional Healthcare. Research data thathas beenpreviously collectedon the mental health of capital crime offenders is expected to beusedin ascertaining the magnitude of societal challenges in releasingoffenders who have issues of psychological health (&quotSAGEPublications Inc&quot, 2017).The project will also involve the individuals currently serving theirterms to ensure that the developed solutions are relevant andapplicable. Formulating solutions to deal with the challenge ofmental health is essential in ensuring that the nursing professionand health care practitioners canparticipate in developing practical solutions.

References

InternationalJournal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology | SAGEPublications Inc.(2017). Us.sagepub.com.Retrieved 2 April 2017, fromhttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/international-journal-of-offender-therapy-and-comparative-criminology/journal200930#aims-and-scope

Abstract

InstitutionAffiliation

Theresearch was conducted to investigate the cultural citizenship as anew method being adopted by many EU countries to exclude immigrantsin their regions, and it covered six countries. The research isunder the political psychology which is a major subsection ofpsychology and was carried to determine what is required for one toacquire a foreign citizenship through the culture and how culturalcitizenship differs from the increased ethnic and civicrepresentations (Reijerse, Acker, Vanbeselaere, Phalet and Duriez,2013).

Thestudy question is the question under analysis and in the research, itwas important since it was asked to determine what people view aboutthe cultural citizenship and how effective can be and also it wasimportant since it helped the researcher to something new that didn’texist before the research (Reijerse, Acker, Vanbeselaere, Phalet andDuriez, 2013).

Theresearch used the questionnaire method of data collection from(Belgium, Germany, Sweden, France, Netherlands and Hungary), whichwere geographically dispersed by analyzing different citizenshippolicies and how public attitude differ towards the immigrants. Theprocedure comprised conducting a comparative cross-national surveythat mainly included the high school students as the main respondentswith representations of citizenship and the attitudes towardsimmigrants being used as the main measures for the survey.

Athree-factor solution for the survey was used in the analysis, andthe results were as shown below, eigenvalue was below 1.00 and a goodfit for the three-factor model. The research results concluded thatthe relationship should not be equated to zero since there was morerelationship between the cultural scale and the robust associationsof the immigrant attitudes (Reijerse, Acker, Vanbeselaere, Phalet andDuriez, 2013).

Someof the research findings were there was high manifested participationof the civic, ethnic and cultural distinct citizenshiprepresentations. While the research suffered the critics of the lackof adults’ participants since only high school students were usedand the cross-sectional design that was believed to have preventedthe observation of the making inferences about the casualties.

Reference

Reijerse,A, Acker, K, Vanbeselaere, N, Phalet, K, and Duriez, B. (2013).Beyond the Ethnic-Civic Dichotomy: Cultural Citizenship as a New wayof Exchange Immigrants.Journal of Political Psychology, 34(4),611-630.