I recently conducted an interview with an HIV positive individual through the assistance of an organization FEGS, (Federation Employment and Guidance Service) that deals with health and human service. The interview was granted on the basis that the individual’s identity would be kept anonymous and in the assignment no names would be used. Consent was received through the organization and the documentation was kept in their possession. The discussion between the individual and I was guided and facilitated by one of the administrators of the program. Through the interview, I was able to relate some of the factors of the person’s life to what was commonly portrayed in the journal articles. For the purpose of the paper, the individual will be addressed as Tom.
The individual questioned was a straight African American male in his forties. He stated that he had become infected with the disease sometime in 1993, which meant he was thirty years old at the time. This fits the age group currently of people who are at high risk for the disease and being infected. At the time of the interview, Tom was living in special housing for individuals with disabilities (mental illness and substance abuse disorders) located in the Bronx. He is currently unemployed due to his disability but previously held store jobs. He reported contracting the disease from an ex-girlfriend who at the time of their relationship was an IV-drug user. He also showed high risk sexual behavior by having numerous partners, more than fifty. It was revealed to him that he had HIV from an annual checkup because he was constantly losing weight. Condoms were not always available so he did not use them most of the time. Tom reported having a lot of information about the disease but never thinking that it would happen to him. He receives monthly checkups from his physician and support from his psychologist, and psychiatrist as well as from the organization. He also receives support from family but does not discuss having the disease with anyone else for fear of being discriminated against. When asked how it is coping with the disease, he responded that “It is very difficult to live with this disease; I am always stressed and tired most of the time.” He also stated “I take my medication daily, I try to eat healthy and stay healthy.”
The participant was also asked questions about financial assistance which affords him the cost of his antiretroviral treatment. He receives Medicaid assistance to pay for his medications. The medications can run up to a very high cost because multiple ones need to be taken such as Reyataz, Trizivir, and Epivir. When asked about his present lifestyle and behavior, he stated that he practices safe sex or none at all. “I have adapted to living with AIDS and live one day at a time hoping that there would be better drugs to combat the disease.”
This interview identifies barriers individuals have in acquiring access to information regarding HIV/AIDS. Popular misconceptions lead people to ignore the warning signs of the disease and still continue high risk sexual behaviors. Being in a relationship with someone who is an IV-drug user puts the partner at risk because they are not necessarily sought out to seek treatment because they themselves do not use drugs. For that particular interview, it is unknown how long the individual was in the relationship with his past girlfriend and if either of them had sexual relations with other people. There could still be the chance of infecting others. It is very unclear during the time period between when he was infected and when he was diagnosed. Between those times, other individuals could have possibly had sexual relations with him as well and become infected. It is important to have facilities and services open to people living with the disease. Tom in particular received a lot of support but as previously stated there is discrimination within treatment programs in regards to gender. Women with children don’t always receive the same amount of care.
In cases similar to the above mentioned, there is a need for specialized education in regards to posters, and pamphlets all emphasizing the necessity of protection and encouraging the communication between partners. There should also be an established support group for drug users and partners of drug users. This would destroy the barriers of miscommunication and dishonesty. Posters and pamphlets could be created and distributed among various establishments present in the neighborhoods at high risk for HIV. The material distributed would emphasize the effectiveness of condom use. They would carry messages portraying the results of various studies and the amount of people being infected due to their use or lack of use of condoms. The support groups would be established within clinics just as the previously mentioned ones. The costs would be about the same but services would focus on social and psychological assistance. These discussion groups would concentrate on the relationship between intravenous drug users and their partners. They would accentuate the fact that individuals may not always know their status and prompt them to get tested for HIV. In studies conducted that tested the effectiveness of condoms among serodiscordant heterosexual couples who either used condoms frequently or infrequently, the results showed that with those that used condoms the prevalence estimate was 8.2%. This was at a 95% confidence interval. The HIV prevalence estimate among couples that never used condoms was 86.6% [8].