Force Field Analysis for HIV/AIDS-Infected Women - Essay Example

? Force Field Analysis: Women Infected With HIV/AIDS without Access to Healthcare AIDS is that condition that results progressive dysfunction of the immune system thus allowing the opportunistic infections which are life-threatening and other cancers to fully thrive on the human body. This occurs after an infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV. Between the male and female gender, female gender is most affected with the scourge. This is because the group is quite a vulnerable in society and is prone to many negative issues such as abuse from the public, social stigma, inadequate medical attention, and poor dieting, among others. This could be further explained by the fact that women are always on the receiving end whenever family issues do arise and if they are not infected with HIV, they feel the effects since they are left to take care of those infected and thus are affected. The population that is most affected by the menace is comprised of the homeless women who in most cases live in shanties and along downtown streets with no access to good food and shelter. HIV infected women and access to healthcare services are important ideas yet they keep moving back and forth when it comes to certain realities that are related to indicators for health that depicts the women’s vulnerability in respect of their reproductive and sexual health in such poor conditions where their level of income is lower; and the other reason being the structural imbalances when it comes to basic rights in that women do represent a fragile part of the whole scenario (Fleishman 2-76). In Massachusetts, women considered of color, especially the African American ladies, are most affected and this group does represent the larger portion of new HIV/AIDS cases reported among women in this location. The other major problem is that most of these infected women fall within the low income bracket yet burdened with huge family responsibilities which in return complicates the issue by interfering with their management. Research has shown that women who are infected with HIV/AIDS normally do face inadequate access to healthcare and on the other hand come across disparities access as compared to their male counterparts (Massachusetts Department of Public Health Office of HIV/AIDS 1-4). In correspondence with the community members in the locality who included those infected, it was possible to hold a brainstorming session to find out the causes of this problem. In the brainstorming session, various issues came up to support the problem which has been identified above. The major issue is low level of income which causes these colored African American women to have inadequate access to healthcare since their income can barely support their basic needs such as food and shelter. The HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study established that women who suffer from HIV/AIDS are majorly made of those who are disproportionately low-income earners who can barely support themselves and would depend on well-wishers. From the statistics, over 64% were found to have annual incomes lower than $10,000 as compared to men who were at 41%. Other causes of the problem arose from the fact that stigma is still a reality and most people would not want to be associated with the infected women much as most of the male gender has a free ride due to low levels of guilt on their conscience (Glynn and Rhodes 1-16). Most of the women who are HIV/AIDS infected and affected have been found to have children who are under the age of 18 years. This number stood at 76% of the women and in essence, this family responsibility does further complicate the ability this group has in managing their illness. Infected women who currently are recipients of medical care come across various barriers to treatment and are less likely to get maximum levels of care when compared to men. HCSUS has it that women who are HIV Positive were less likely to get the necessary combination therapy and were found to fare on poorly on other welfare access measures as opposed to their male counterparts. Postponement of health care was also realities in women than men and on average, 23% were found to be too sick to access medical services. Other factors causing this include: segregation by the community, poor transport means, low access to food, few people willing to help in providing the care needed, inadequate knowledge, male dominance, huge family responsibility, racial discrimination, lack of amenities, few doctors, high infection rates, fear of retribution, divorces, drug use, alcoholism, poor living conditions, and vulnerability (Glynn and Rhodes 1-16). The low level of income for these women seemed to be the major causal factor to be addressed by the interventions. The rationale for picking this factor lies in the fact that without adequate income, other issues mentioned above come in. with access to high income levels, the women infected with HIV/AIDS would be able to access means of transport, pay consultation, motivate themselves to live more, check their medication, eat well, exercise, and would enjoy the things they cannot manage now. These could not be done without enough levels of income. The best way to eliminate this causative issue is by coming up with various community support projects for women infected with HIV/AIDS, establishing trust funds and foundations to help women, pushing the government to channel funds towards helping the vulnerable women, accessing employment opportunities for those who are still strong and can therefore work so as to give them stable income, and finding a way of providing monthly income with the sole aim of helping this vulnerable group access basic amenities. To ensure a sustainable income level for this group, there needs to be a highly deductible healthcare plan, provision of healthcare savings accounts, patient cost sharing programs to further reduce cost, and ensuring that medicines are availed to these women (Fleishman 2-76). The above approach on the required healthcare program is simply focused upon necessitating access to healthcare services, improving on the level of quality for this service, helping them manage costs associated with it, reduce discrepancies, ensure continuity of service provision and create an atmosphere of patient centeredness. Indeed, the current situation is wanting and the systems put in place to cater for this still do not meet the specific needs of the women with HIV/AIDS in this low income locality. This situation is therefore wanting and something needs to be done based on the above recommendations to handle the income problem (Fleishman 2-76). An ideal situation would be full access to medical care by having empowered women with HIV/AIDS group that is able to adequately cater for its needs and access healthcare. When these women are empowered economically, they are able to take care of the other issues in life which contribute immensely to the management of their HIV/AIDS status. The driving forces for this situation would be: High levels of commitment from the government in support of the income generating programs; Proper management of funds and foundations so as to ensure that the neediest are reached; Motivation to mitigate the current situation is also a major driving force; Mobilization of community members to help in alleviating the problem by contributing to the kitty; Health institutions treating this group as very essential in their medical practice; Engaging the community in HIV/AIDS programs; Sustaining the HIV/AIDS kitty; Creation of employment position for the women with HIV/AIDS; Need to empower women groups; and The need to have the rate of HIV/AIDS related deaths reduced to a very minimum level. The restraining forces for the above driving forces are: Individualism exhibited by the community; Declining employment rates; Economic instability that has caused many to lose jobs; Lack of collective responsibility for those infected; Social stigma towards the infected women; Racism practices given that the infected are mostly colored people; Fewer programs that could ensure economic stability; Lack of goodwill from the government to fight this problem; Poor assumptions made by those suffering from the problem; and Low levels of empowerment to the women members of this community. Field Force analysis (Dewar and Rigney, 16-78): It is hard to change certain factors especially brought about by the international economics such as high levels of unemployment rate due to the current financial crisis. Securing employment to these people might not be achieved. For that reason, programs that ensure self-employment should be put in place to ensure that these women are economically empowered. The other field force that I will tackle is the social stigma. This is because when the social stigma is eliminated, the community will treat those infected as equal members of society and would be willing to give them opportunities in life. This will also work in enhancing their morale and promoting their health status (Cunningham 2-67). Works Cited Cunningham, WE.,. "The Impact of Competing Subsistence Needs and Barriers on Access to Medical Care for Persons with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Receiving Care in the United States." Medical Care 37.12 (1999): 2-67. Dewar, Donald, L. and Carl, M., Rigney. Force field analysis. New York: QCI International, 2000. Fleishman, JA,. "Hospital and Outpatient Health Services Utilization Among HIV Infected Adults in Care 2000–2002." Medical Care 43.9 (2005): 2-76. Glynn, MK and P., Rhodes. "Estimated HIV Prevalence in the United States at the End of 2003." National HIV Prevention Conference. June 2005. 1-16. Massachusetts Department of Public Health Office of HIV/AIDS. "Massachusetts HIV/AIDS Data Fact Sheet The Massachusetts HIV/AIDS Epidemic at a Glance." 2010. Statewide Fact Sheets. 15 09 2011 . Read More