tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8559698997775852417.post6814524390472751601..comments2020-08-06T02:08:54.496-07:00Comments on asitwasnotinthebeginning: HIV : The Care And The CaregiverJoiedevivrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436536348352725443noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8559698997775852417.post-49817230154748278832012-04-12T00:20:00.945-07:002012-04-12T00:20:00.945-07:00Thanks for your epistle. It's really given me ...Thanks for your epistle. It's really given me food for thought. I am fascinated at the relationship between female empowerment, self esteem and the high rate of infection. <br />Yeah, I learnt about the cocktail of drugs which I'll speak about later on. And about delivery for pregnant women.Joiedevivrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07436536348352725443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8559698997775852417.post-56522384516362470292012-04-11T20:48:26.416-07:002012-04-11T20:48:26.416-07:00It's not illiteracy or lack of awareness for t...It's not illiteracy or lack of awareness for these AA women (not sure about poverty, will look that up) but rather the inability to negotiate safer sex practices in their heterosexual relationships for a number of reasons. Most important is power. There is the idea that eligible black males are scarce, this gives the men more power in the relationship, so the women don't want to rock d boat so to speak by demanding condom use. They also might not want to shatter the illusion of monogamy or worse still be accused of being unfaithful. Then there's the risk denial, where they don't think it can happen to them.<br /><br />Of course there's more to it than what I just mentioned, but my research project is dealing with why the infection rates still keeps going up despite all the awareness about the disease. It's pretty interesting stuff. The one parallel I've been able to draw between AA women and Nigerian women(esp married ones) is the "inability" to demand safe sex practices from their partners. They know their husband's are unfaithful yet they can't, don't or won't demand condom use. I think it's mostly can't. You keep your fingers crossed and pray he doesn't bring home any diseases. <br /><br />There's a lot of work to be done in Nigeria in terms of awareness and prevention. There's still a lot of stigma attached to d disease, which is why such men would rather die than get tested. There are also a lot of misconceptions about the disease too. Hopefully, I can play a little role someday. <br /><br />It's so sad to learn that the Anti-retroviral drugs are not readily available or affordable in Nigeria. It's really not a good idea to start and stop those meds because that's when you develop resistance to them. Also, people are usually never given just one type of drug, It's supposed to be a cocktail. I have so much to learn about how these things actually work in Nigeria.<br /><br />I apologize for my epistle. This is something I am passionate about. <br /><br />I had to delete my initial comment cos i was typing from my phone and it was so stressful trying to correct typos :)NaijaScorpiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15375583469985472050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8559698997775852417.post-28067035503963696542012-04-11T20:40:44.667-07:002012-04-11T20:40:44.667-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.NaijaScorpiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15375583469985472050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8559698997775852417.post-66396128938506678722012-04-11T18:44:40.799-07:002012-04-11T18:44:40.799-07:00Hey Madame Sting
Thanks for dropping by.
It would...Hey Madame Sting<br />Thanks for dropping by. <br />It would be interesting and important to know if the rate if infection of African American women is linked in any way to poverty and /or illiteracy. I ask that because from what I saw at the clinic there were more women there as well, most of them married. But their husbands either refused to come and be tested ( which presupposes they already suspected they were infected)or rejected the diagnosis.<br />We cannot get enough people in medical care interested in this because it really is a major issue for us here.<br />Good luck with school and please dont be a stranger.Joiedevivrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07436536348352725443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8559698997775852417.post-42964794358498417552012-04-11T13:16:33.344-07:002012-04-11T13:16:33.344-07:00Interesting blog. I could learn a lot from your st...Interesting blog. I could learn a lot from your story. I am very interested in HIV/AIDS awareness and in fact, that is my area of focus for my pathway activities in med school. My idea is to learn what i can and see if i can use that knowledge back home. Interestingly, besides men who have sex with men, african American women have the highest infection rates today in the US. <br /><br />Coincidentally, we just did Antivirals last week in pharmacology, so i recognized Efavirenz. A c-section is not the only way an HIV positive woman can have a child, it just helps reduce the risk and sometimes depending on the situation, it might even be more risky. I'm really looking forward to reading more from you. Thanks for sharing.NaijaScorpiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15375583469985472050noreply@blogger.com