Social Determinants of Health HIV

Question: Discuss about theSocial Determinants of Health for HIV. Answer: Introdcution Health is right of every human being on earth. Quality of health determines the development of society, class differences. The access to good health and the prevention technique determines the health equity. It needs to spread all across the world. (WHO, 2016). Social factors are also a determinant of health apart from other infectious and non infectious diseases. HIV is considered to the determinant for the fault lines in society. (Bateson Goldsby, 1988). This fault is depicted by the unequal status of women in societies. In South Africa, AIDS depicts the poor condition of women who cannot take benefit of the social freedom. (WHO, 2007). The incidence of AIDS is increasing in women all around the world. (Pomeroy, 2008). From around 20 years the number of women patients suffering with AIDS has been approximately half of 40 million AIDS patients across the world. The number is higher in the developing countries. (Quinn Overbaugh, 2005). Social inequalities are a major risk in women suffering from HIV in USA. (Zierler Krieger, 1997). Social determinants of health of women to HIV infection include gender, economic status, cultural, race, social justice and sexual norms. (Dworkin Blankenship, 2009). In the sub Sahara region of Africa, around 60% of women are suffering with HIV. Due to the gender based inequality the chance of getting HIV infection is more in women these days. The CDC(2012) report suggests that the chances of HIV infection is 20% higher in women of colour compared to the other women in USA. As per some studies the women of colour across the world have a greater possibility to acquire AIDS compared to the white women. (Gibbs et al., 2012). Social, physical environment, health care services and other major factors are mainly responsible for the inequity related to health in women. This causes hindrance in women access to preventive measures. CDC has developed upstream and downstream strategies to deal the social determinants of health. The upstream social determinants include the physical and social environments and the downstream determinants include the medical care, personal resources and health behaviours. (Woolf Braveman, 2011). The social values which prevent women and girls from receiving sex education are a major drawback affecting the women from receiving the required knowledge to avoid the risk of acquiring the disease. The lower status of women in society which make them sub ordinate to men and prevent them having control over their own life and important decision related to it. Lower economic status is also a major factor which is affecting the health many women across the whole world. The developing countr ies in Africa, Asia and part of South America have a higher population living under poverty which is an important factor in making the women more vulnerable to the disease. The gender inequality affects them from getting the proper health care from the health care organisations. The discrimination in the society on the basis of sex prevents the women to speak openly about sex. This gives rise to unequal sexual dynamics which affect the health of women. The responsibility of handling the household work and taking care of their children prevent them from going to the health care centres. Also the fear of positive test detection and the related effects on the family because of the diagnosis stops them from getting the care and treatment. The physical and sexual violence towards women is causing a risk of getting the infection. Trauma and cuts are common in case of forced physical relation which causes the chances of HIV infection through the sores. The repeated sexual abuse and fear of saving relationship with their partners force the women to be a host for the sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. This is also a refraining factor for women from taking th e test to detect the test. The fear that their partner will abandon them or might cause physical harm to them let them suffer with the problem alone and prevent them from getting the right care. The problem is more of concern in the sex workers. The risk of infection is higher in these women. The discriminatory treatment with these women related to their work and the violence against them increases the risk factor. (ARCH, 2016). The lack of knowledge and usage of the prevention methods to avoid the STIs and HIV increases the risk among women. The inability to ask for protection use by the partners increases the risk. This is more common in the developing countries where women feel shy and are less expressive about their problems. The ignorance and lack of information about their health and related diseases is letting the infection spread its root in more number of women. Stigma related to HIV is acting as a major hindrance for the use of effective measures against the infection. Not only is this issue affecting the health of women and destroying their family life, social involvement, economic condition but also acting as a hurdle for them to access the health facilities and get tested for the infection. (Kalichman Simbayi, 2003). To control the infection from spreading it is important to have the number of infected people and determine the outcome of issues like stigma on a greater level in the society. It is acting as challenge for the health care workers to spread awareness and the prevention facilities to the one in need. (Duffy, 2005). Poor financial condition for women also makes them in getting involved in multiple sex relationships without proper protection. The social discrimination and the lack of culturally competent services and health care providers, ethnic differences and the language barrier all act in creating the barriers for the eff ective applications of the method to control the risk of disease especially in case of women. The working and living environment also heightens the risk. Lack of proper facilities, unemployment and unhygienic living conditions make them more vulnerable. Now looking for the influence of these determinants in women across the world, one can find that the condition is worse in the developing countries compared to the developed countries. Women from the sub- Saharan Africa living in the rural areas are at a higher risk to HIV infection. The disease has affected African continent very badly. The effects of the disease are causing a poor health, economic and social discrimination in the people. In case of women it is observed that around 60 % of AIDS victim in the Sub Saharan African region are women which show a high number compared to the women from USA where there 25% of women got infected by AIDS in 2008. (UNAIDS WHO, 2009). The higher rate of transmission in the African women can also be because of the ethnic, social, financial and legal factors. The dependency of women on their male partners for their survival is observed in some African cultures which prevent them from having control over their life decisions. The number of death is higher for women in Africa which is creating imbalance in the population ratio. It is estimated by some of the scientists that the number of male aged between 15 to 44 years will increase compared to the women counterparts by the year 2020. (US census bureau, 2004). The death of their partners due to AIDS poses a responsibility of handling the family and meeting their demands which is affect the financial conditions of the family. While in USA the number of women patient getting HIV infection also shows a higher number of African women compared to the American women in the year 2008 to 2011 reported by CDC. The increase use of drugs in women is a rising a concern of getting HIV infection in American women. The government is promoting awareness about the disease by implementing strategies and programmes. The public health advocacy groups aims at imparting sexual education to the citizens to control the risk of HIV infection. The education about sex and related infection is must for the women who are at risk. The approach required for combating these social determinants which are affecting women all across world involves raising awareness among the people to accept the HIV infected people as a part of the society. The need of health care instructors and professionals is important. Volunteers are required who can reach out to the remote areas and promote awareness and provide the necessary preventive measures to the women belonging to diverse cultural background. Structural interventions are required to change the social determinants which are increasing the risk of HIV infection in women. The structural interventions aim at developing method and strategies which can deal with the health issues in the light of social, economic and political environment. This will help in spreading the preventing method on a mass level and saving the lives of many people. The policies should focus on the needs of the women and should be designed accordingly to help them from falling prey to the deadly infection. References Commision of social determinants of health. (2007). Geneva: World Health Organisation. Retreived from https://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/ Bateson, M Goldsby, R. (1988). Thinking AIDS: the social response to the biological threat. MA:Addison-wesley. 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