HIV and AIDS among African Americans - Essay Example

JOURNAL Demographics Cornelius, L and J Mason (2009). Enduring Issues of HIV/AIDS for People of Color: What Is the Roadmap Ahead? Health & Social Work 34(4).  Summary This article is about the intersections between race and illness. It looks at HIV and AIDS among African-American people, and sees how they often suffer more from the disease, because of a lack of opportunity, unequal access to healthcare, and other issues that are holding them back. “The interplay of these factors affects every aspect of the HIV/ AIDS epidemic among people of color: prevention, access to health care, mental health support, treatment, treatment adherence, and participation in clinical research. Superimposed on this matrix are the cultural contexts of risk behavior and cultural norms around sexual and other behaviors, including gender roles” (Cornelius, 2009). The author uses structural inequality theories to explain how AIDS often takes a bigger toll on minorities and poor people. Structural Inequality theories view inequality as being passed on from one generation to another in terms of wealth and privilege within a family structure that is seen as a space of economic restriction that also works to keep disadvantaged families in the same place from generation to generation. The social class of the parents, from this perspective, will play a large role in the development of their children in terms of advantages or disadvantages that are inherited in the family structure. From this view, society is not seen as the large organism or field of struggle that functional theorists and conflict theorists see it as, but rather is seen more limited in terms of individual and everyday relations. The author backs up their theory with other readings in the article. Author’s position The author sees HIV/AIDS as occurring against the background of racism in oppression that have kept African-Americans back. “HIV infection occurs against a backdrop of longstanding sociocultural issues and challenges in affected communities.These challenges include macro forces of racism, sexism, homophobia, and poverty as well as fear and stigma... These forces fuel not only the high transmission rate, but also the complex array of responses to the virus” (Cornelius, 2009). It remains the case today in the US that certain communities are more at risk for HIV, and these communities are often found in areas where the socio economic conditions are affected by issues like poverty and lack of education. Often in these areas there are often problems like language and cultural barriers that assist this lack of education and keep communities ignorant about, and therefore more vulnerable to, HIV and AIDS. This is added to the fact that the social stigma of HIV often remains a major factor in these areas, so that many people are shy to even talk about it, or may have their own stereotypes about it (thinking that only gay people can get HIV, for example, and continuing to engage in unprotected heterosexual sex with multiple partners). Author’s values This author apparently believes that an individual’s race or ethnicity is a primary indicator of the quality of care they can expect. This is discriminatory to the individual because it is not a reasonable point of view, and is based on out-group distancing on the part of the healthcare establishment. The situation is generally improving, however, as mainstream society becomes more accepting of different individuals and stops viewing them in terms of labeling theory as being different from the majority and therefore subject to discrimination. “With the same income and health insurance, minorities receive fewer tests and specialty procedures and lower quality care for major diseases such as heart disease, kidney disease, cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS. On the other hand, ethnic minorities are more likely to receive less sophisticated treatments” (Cornelius, 2009). Strengths and weaknesses At the conclusion of the article, the author presents a brief and summative section that is designed to show the reader their own personal data and conclusions about which concept is most effective in dealing with organizations and what the limitations are. I found this section of the article particularly informative. It was interesting to me as well that the author was able to make connections between the real world and some of the issues in the supporting texts. This article is articulate and literate, and answers all aspects of the reader’s questions in easy to read terms while paraphrasing main ideas of other authors often in the text. Again it is interesting to read as a whole, with the one weakness being too much length. Impact on social work The authors shows how cultural competence is important, and it is also important in social work. The author supports “the use cultural competency paradigms to design socially responsive interventions, policies, and programs. The articles highlight the multiplicity of identities, membership within diverse populations, and the structural challenges faced by these communities and the effects of differential power” (Cornelius, 2009). Diversity perspectives are also important to consider, including applying diversity theory to training those involved in the systems to be sensitive to other cultures and forces of multiculturalism in society. Often this is lacking especially in the healthcare environment and this leads to an apparent slip in general ethics. Some professionals in the system view the situation rather coldly in terms of the bottom economic line, and the government should not be an echo of this view in federal programs—the social worker’s role is also about advocating an end to HIV prejudice. Perhaps the most main part of the understanding in this critical light involves the examination of in-group and out-group mentality, prejudice, and discrimination in the social work environment, as obstacles that may affect communication with clients. Prejudice is a negatively attributed cultural thinking that associates in-group characteristics with positive things and out-group characteristics with their opposite. Personal opinion In today’s society, no one expects healthcare to still have plans that show inequality and inequity when treating people of different races, and healthcare facilities need to live up to this expectation by diminishing discrimination and prejudice on every level. This current state of affairs is contrary to what is expected by the legal precedent established by the reasonable perspective, when African Americans and other minorities, who tend to have diabetes more than the general population, are still not getting as good care for the disease. Unfortunately, this shows that in many cases, the unreasonableness of the decision made by the healthcare facility is based on surface assessments that consider the skin, not what’s underneath. REFERENCE Cornelius, L and J Mason (2009). Enduring Issues of HIV/AIDS for People of Color: What Is the Roadmap Ahead? Health & Social Work 34(4).  Read More