The Number of Services Provided to Tackle HIV - Essay Example

An analysis of a research study on the amount of services provided to tackle HIV/AIDS spread and infection on the African migrant males University Date Introduction HIV and aids have been an international epidemic that is fueled by the act transnational travel. It has been however noted that the conditions faced by the immigrants, especially African expose them to being targets of HIV and aids infections. Another challenge faced by the African migrants who are already infected with HIV and aids is the little of medical care and services access. There has been minimal efforts to try and engage the immigrant men, especially African, in trying to solve the spread of HIV AIDS. It is however imperative that there exist some stereotype against the males seeking health education and knowledge on HIV and AIDS. This is because of the previous statistics about the rate of infection between males and females. This statistic has created bias in terms of interventions and resource allocation into fighting the spread of HIV and aids. A gender based approach towards combating the HIV menace has amounted to discrimination against the men in terms of demonizing them as the real causes of HIV transmission. This paper will analyze the main findings of a research conducted in London by the AHPN. The research study was investigating how frequent African men use the HIV services like HIV testing; HIV care or HIV support services. It will also look into the methods used for research and how effective they have been. Finally, it will analyze the sociological context in which this study was carried out in. Abstract At the beginning of the research carried out by the African HIV Policy Network (AHPN), several facts had to be pre-researched to get the correct statistics and information on the ground about the people who will be part of the research. The first information that was researched included the epidemiology of the African men living in London. This was to identify any common occurrences including the conditions and patterns of the occurrences of the subject matter being studied. For this research, the epidemiological study chose to follow the case-control study. The case control study was deployed as to identify why there was a high prevalence rate for black Africans who have been diagnosed with HIV in London as compared to the rest of London’s racial groups. The methods of data collection in research normally vary because of several factors. This include the type of samples being investigated, the tools used for investigation and collection of data and also the kind of source where the information is be gotten from. Therefore, the method of data collection deployed in a research can be a factor to consider when analyzing a research and its findings. In this case, the use of focus groups proved quite useful in gathering the data that was used in this research. Analysis of the main findings of this research AHPN’s research was guided by one question, which can be wrecked down into two dissimilar parts for the simplification of the findings. The research aimed at identifying the factors which impact the use of community-based HIV services among African migrant men in London. Two directions were taken so as to fully tackle the question. One was seeking to understand how masculinity is an impediment or facilitator of the use of the community-based HIV care services. The other analyzed the success of the community based HIV services in the support of African migrant men in London. It is should however be noted that community-based services aim at providing a solution to the grassroots level of the affected community. The findings of the study, which was undertaken by AHPN, through the use of focus groups, came up with three categories of where the actors affecting the African migrant fell. These categories were social factors, institutional factors and material factors. i. Social factors For the male African migrant living in London, the social factors revolved around three issues. These included the values of what it meant to be a man traditionally, the factors inhibiting the actualization of these values and the alternative form taken by African migrant men to act as an equivalent of a traditional African man. During the interviews, most men shared the traditional expectations of their roles as men. This included finding a female partner, marrying them and becoming financially stable. This would assert their dominance over their female counterparts as the breadwinners of their family. However, it was noted that as much as having multiple partners was mentioned, it was not a major consideration of an ideal African man. The findings of the research also bring an interesting approach to the social factors that affect African migrant men in terms of seeking HIV services and healthcare. Traditionally, mothers and females are the ones responsible for matters concerning health of the family. The men interviewed exhibited their behavioral expectations in health matters when pitched against women. The interviewees said that females have been known to be the weaker sex hence their fondness of seeking health attention. Traditionally, men were viewed as the strong ones hence the interviewees think that if a man is seen seeking medical attention, his reputation will be damaged. It was therefore noted that most of the participants were not meeting their desired standards being a man. Out of the 23 participants of this research, 14 were unemployed and the ones in employment claim that they were getting a raw deal. They felt dissappointed by themselves because they could not measure up to their own expectations and that of their community. They felt that without financial muscle, it was impossible to attract a woman as a wife and even if she were there, the role of the breadwinner could not be achieved by the man hence a buildup in frustration. Reversed gender roles in the UK demanded that men too could cook for their wives and assist in homecare as their spouses were at work. They say that this shift in the tradition had been caused by the fact that it is simpler for women to find employment than it is for them because of the preferential treatment women are given through affirmative action. All these factors, including stigma for those infected with HIV contributed to their feeling of inadequacies as men. Seeking HIV care has been considered as an alternative masculine identity among African migrants. They now say that a real man should know his status and take care of his health. The social context of African migrants has therefore shifted from depending on traditional masculinity to adapting change hence being more masculine by supporting caring for one’s health. ii. material factors According to UNP and WHO (2006), the material factors that contribute to the usage or non-usage of HIV services by African male immigrants include the availability or lack of resources like finances, information and amenities. One of the most encouraging resources that were gained from the HIV services was the socio-emotional restoration to the PLWH. This is because of the sharing of experiences hence providing encouragement to those affected. The information and material about LWH and that about protection and testing services were also appreciated. The findings state that the only material that the men felt the community-based services was not providing was the practical support. This includes proper housing, fighting poverty, employment and immigration. iii. Institutional factors Institutional factors that affect the participants were basically the government policies which created a barrier to the service provision to the men affected by HIV. Lack of funding and limited funding showed that the government resolve to support community-based HIV services was not encouraging. According to Cholewinski (2005), African migrants too could not access good health services since their immigration status despite having stayed in the UK for a long time. Another institutional factor that was found to affect the access of men to HIV service provision included the structure of service provision. This included lack of cross-referral service systems and lack of clear client groups that should benefit from the community based HIV services. In summary, the findings of the research displayed a true importance and realizable benefits involvement of the directly affected people in coming up with effective community-based HIV services. Assessing the usefulness of the methodology used With the statistical data already severally researched, information gathering through qualitative research was the best method of carrying out this research.ne One-on-one open-ended interviews with the sampled audience was effectively executed. The use of focus groups was also effective so as to bring out argumentative discussions over the issues raised. It was also prudent that the questions raised were not leading so as to get a desired result from the study. According to Basset (2006), the use of open end questions displayed in this research show that the research was determined to get the actual and credible information gathered from the field. The challenges of using the focus group for information gathering are also its main strength. The dynamisms in a focus group bring about divergent opinion and the moderator must therefore ensure that the subject matter is maintained in the discussion and also ensure that credibility of the data is achieved. Since moderation requires knowledge and background information about the participants, participatory planning activities were carried out so that the participants can be comfortable when recognized during the discussion. The transcription process therefore helps the moderator to come to consensus and know when to cool down the debate. Analysis of the sociological context of the research From the literature review, it can be noted that this research was informed of the social and psychological importance of people’s identities. The demographical distribution of the various communities and racial groups in the United Kingdom are contributing factors to various social conditions that affect the area. This can be confirmed by the epidemiological findings of social issues such as employment, housing and healthcare including statistics of infections found in these areas. The main question of this research was seeking to discover the effects of community-based HIV services by African men living in London. This can be attributed to the consistent statistics displayed y several researches and studies which show a certain phenomena in the community. The community at hand is the African migrant community and previous statistic show that the women are the most vulnerable and also the most forthcoming in terms of tackling the HIV menace. The research therefore set out to find the reasons why men were left out and the issues surrounding the use of the consistent statistics from those regions. Conclusion The findings of the research have displayed the thorough work that was carried out by the AHPN in London. The challenges faced by the African men migrants and the successes by the community based HIV service providers highlight very important findings that may be exploited so as to improve the service penetration. The methodology in this research was well thought of, and it achieved the purpose of the research with minimal room for errors. The use of focus groups was considered appropriate and the selection of the participants ensured that the topic of discussion did not create any animosity between the participants. This was done by ensuring the sampling was done across different demographics and a wide geographical area. The sociological context where the need to draw the research was drawn from, also show that previous researches may be used to spur new researches for further understanding of issues. References Bassett, C. (2006). Qualitative Research in Health Care. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. Cholewinski, R. (2005). Study on obstacles to effective access of irregular migrants to minimum social rights. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publ. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS., & World Health Organization. (2006). AIDS epidemic update. Geneva: UNAIDS Read More