Array
(
[a_id] => 246064
[c_id] => 11
[r_id] => 0
[rr_id] => 0
[m_id] => 0
[s_id] => 25646
[id_id] => 0
[v_id] => 0
[loc_id] => 0
[ft_id] => 0
[a_classification] => news
[a_layout] => 1
[a_headline] => Fear Of Stigma May Slow HIV Prevention Efforts Among Navajo
[a_sheadline] => Fear Of Stigma May Slow HIV Prevention Efforts Among Navajo
[a_slug] => fear-stigma-may-slow-hiv-prevention-efforts-among-navajo-246064
[a_subheadline] =>
[a_summary] => Despite the Indian Health Service's vast prevention and treatment efforts, the stigma surrounding HIV on the Navajo reservation remains a hindrance.
[a_article] =>
The stigma surrounding HIV infection among the Navajo may make prevention efforts difficult, even as a new report released in April showed HIV cases are on the rise on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico.
The report, authored by the federal Indian Health Service, revealed 47 new HIV cases diagnosed on the reservation in 2012, 20 percent more than in 2011, The New York Times reports. The biggest risk factor, accounting for about 40 percent of cases, is men having sex with other men, the report states. The rate of new cases diagnosed is five times higher than in 1999, it adds.
That's not to say there are no efforts being made to stop the growing trend. On the contrary, the report details a number of efforts underway to raise awareness among the Navajo and improve screening and treatment efforts. The Four Corners Project is dedicated to improving HIV screening and HIV care among substance abusers, and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service received a $250,000 grant in 2012 from the Minority AIDS Initiative to improve patient care at the HIV clinic in Gallup, New Mexico. Overall, the Indian Health Service has allocated $5 million over the past three years for prevention, screening, and education programs, the Times adds.
However, the report says, "HIV infection rates are climbing dangerously high on the Navajo nation. It is very clear that the HIV epidemic on Navajo is growing."
Alcohol abuse is one of the biggest problems. Alcoholics must be universally screened for HIV, and HIV-positive alcoholics must be enrolled in rehabilitation programs, the report recommends.
But another major problem is the stigma that surrounds HIV in Navajo communities. The Navajo AIDS Network's executive director, Melvin Harrison, told the Times that Navajo with HIV may not even tell their family or friends of their diagnosis because they fear rejection. The fear of that stigma can lead people to avoid help rather than seek it out, added the Indian Health Service's chief medical officer, Susan Karol.
Decreasing that stigma will require a "culturally sensitive, Navajo-specific publicity campaign in collaboration between the Navajo Nation HIV Prevention Office, the Navajo AIDS Network, and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service," the report says.
Otherwise, report author and head of the Gallup HIV clinic Jonathan Iralu told the Times, the problem could turn into a full scale "epidemic."
The number of HIV cases among the Navajo is rising.Flickr: Moyan_Brenn, CC BY 2.0
[a_content] =>
The stigma surrounding HIV infection among the Navajo may make prevention efforts difficult, even as a new report released in April showed HIV cases are on the rise on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico.
The report, authored by the federal Indian Health Service, revealed 47 new HIV cases diagnosed on the reservation in 2012, 20 percent more than in 2011, The New York Times reports. The biggest risk factor, accounting for about 40 percent of cases, is men having sex with other men, the report states. The rate of new cases diagnosed is five times higher than in 1999, it adds.
That's not to say there are no efforts being made to stop the growing trend. On the contrary, the report details a number of efforts underway to raise awareness among the Navajo and improve screening and treatment efforts. The Four Corners Project is dedicated to improving HIV screening and HIV care among substance abusers, and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service received a $250,000 grant in 2012 from the Minority AIDS Initiative to improve patient care at the HIV clinic in Gallup, New Mexico. Overall, the Indian Health Service has allocated $5 million over the past three years for prevention, screening, and education programs, the Times adds.
However, the report says, "HIV infection rates are climbing dangerously high on the Navajo nation. It is very clear that the HIV epidemic on Navajo is growing."
Alcohol abuse is one of the biggest problems. Alcoholics must be universally screened for HIV, and HIV-positive alcoholics must be enrolled in rehabilitation programs, the report recommends.
But another major problem is the stigma that surrounds HIV in Navajo communities. The Navajo AIDS Network's executive director, Melvin Harrison, told the Times that Navajo with HIV may not even tell their family or friends of their diagnosis because they fear rejection. The fear of that stigma can lead people to avoid help rather than seek it out, added the Indian Health Service's chief medical officer, Susan Karol.
Decreasing that stigma will require a "culturally sensitive, Navajo-specific publicity campaign in collaboration between the Navajo Nation HIV Prevention Office, the Navajo AIDS Network, and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service," the report says.
Otherwise, report author and head of the Gallup HIV clinic Jonathan Iralu told the Times, the problem could turn into a full scale "epidemic."
The study also revealed that individuals who quit smoking, regardless of age, can achieve a life expectancy similar to non-smokers within approximately 10 years after quitting, and nearly half of this benefit can be noticed within just three years.
Researchers found that a combination of genetics and environmental factors reduces longevity in dementia patients. The same combination may shorten the lives of their siblings even without dementia.
The suicide rates increase substantially when air pollution rises, and the effect was particularly strong in the elderly, with older women 2.5 times more at risk than other groups.
While mental stress is commonly acknowledged in connection with grief, it is crucial to understand that grief can also present physical symptoms, including illnesses, fatigue, pain, and sleep disturbances.
The use of antidepressants, particularly fluoxetine, could affect the development of the prefrontal cortex of the infant's brain, potentially raising the risk of mental health disorders later in their life.
Researchers have developed smart earrings that could continuously monitor a person's earlobe temperature. The innovation known as Thermal Earring could also be potentially used to track signs of ovulation, stress, eating, and exercise.
The researchers made the interesting finding using a trial involving patients with a rare genetic condition called Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD).
People infected with the flu were more likely to need hospital care in the following year for common neurologic conditions than people who had the SARS-CoV2 infection.
Among women with a history of pregnancy complications, those who achieved or maintained high heart health after pregnancy were at a similar risk for heart disease as women without adverse pregnancy outcomes and good cardiovascular health, the study stated.
The study published in the journal BMJ indicated that individuals with hypermobile joints had a 30% higher chance of not fully recovering from COVID-19 and experiencing persistent fatigue associated with long COVID.
The studies showed that COVID antigens lingered in the blood up to 14 months after infection and more than two years in tissue samples of people who had the infection.
Those individuals who receive a COVID-19 vaccine during the first half of their menstrual cycle are more likely to experience cycle length changes than those receiving a vaccine in the latter half.
The stigma surrounding HIV infection among the Navajo may make prevention efforts difficult, even as a new report released in April showed HIV cases are on the rise on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico.
The report, authored by the federal Indian Health Service, revealed 47 new HIV cases diagnosed on the reservation in 2012, 20 percent more than in 2011, The New York Times reports. The biggest risk factor, accounting for about 40 percent of cases, is men having sex with other men, the report states. The rate of new cases diagnosed is five times higher than in 1999, it adds.
That's not to say there are no efforts being made to stop the growing trend. On the contrary, the report details a number of efforts underway to raise awareness among the Navajo and improve screening and treatment efforts. The Four Corners Project is dedicated to improving HIV screening and HIV care among substance abusers, and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service received a $250,000 grant in 2012 from the Minority AIDS Initiative to improve patient care at the HIV clinic in Gallup, New Mexico. Overall, the Indian Health Service has allocated $5 million over the past three years for prevention, screening, and education programs, the Times adds.
However, the report says, "HIV infection rates are climbing dangerously high on the Navajo nation. It is very clear that the HIV epidemic on Navajo is growing."
Alcohol abuse is one of the biggest problems. Alcoholics must be universally screened for HIV, and HIV-positive alcoholics must be enrolled in rehabilitation programs, the report recommends.
But another major problem is the stigma that surrounds HIV in Navajo communities. The Navajo AIDS Network's executive director, Melvin Harrison, told the Times that Navajo with HIV may not even tell their family or friends of their diagnosis because they fear rejection. The fear of that stigma can lead people to avoid help rather than seek it out, added the Indian Health Service's chief medical officer, Susan Karol.
Decreasing that stigma will require a "culturally sensitive, Navajo-specific publicity campaign in collaboration between the Navajo Nation HIV Prevention Office, the Navajo AIDS Network, and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service," the report says.
Otherwise, report author and head of the Gallup HIV clinic Jonathan Iralu told the Times, the problem could turn into a full scale "epidemic."
