Culture War...

 

tRump's maga has declared a culture war on anything they see as DEI.  They will use it justify harming anyone or anything.  Unfortunately that included the war on HIV.   These cuts aren't just to PEPFAR & other overseas projects.  They include domestic programs for awareness, testing, treatment & prevention.   

maga's actions could very well lead to a reality where HIV is as dangerous as it was decades ago.   These people's actions aren't out of some profound need to protect themselves from some imaginary boogeyman.  These directives are meant cause harm, mayhem, degradation & even death.  maga is vile.

My hope is that every single person who supported this movement gets this illness & has no means of dealing with it.  Let them & theirs know the horrors of what unmitigated HIV can be.  They deserve it.

That's all for now.  Take care.

Cya...

Needed...

 

I read fairly often stating this or that is needed for the  fight against HIV due to Race/Culture/Gender issues.  I somewhat call BS on most of that.  They often refer to things as telemedicine, at-home testing & mail order meds.   

They say these help people in racial & gender minorities or those living in restrictive cultures.   That may be so.  But it isn't because a person is not White that these things a beneficial.  These are socio-cultural matters.  What's happening here is that telemedicine & processes that can be handled remotely feel safer & more accessible.

This isn't so much a matter of type as it is of shame, poverty & lack of access.  These other methods work better because they can often circumvent those things.  Stigma/shame are things that aren't going  away, if telemedicine can help, that's great.   However, there is still an access problem for a lot of people in remote areas.

A person's health is a private matter.  If there is a way to better maintain anonymity than by all means use it.  If there are more secure means of accessing doctors, healthcare & meds, then they should be promoted.  Health professionals aren't going to change cultures.  But they can do end-runs around them & maybe bypass some of these issues.  HIV has never been just a medical issue.

Cya...

A Different POV...

I said I'd just blog about the Orlando Shooting just once.  I haven't changed my mind on that.   But this article, isn't about the shooting.  It's about the level of stigma against being gay in Afghan & Muslim cultures.   It discusses how gays are treated in these places.  It tells of how some of these people would sooner kill themselves than let it be known they were gay. 

The shooting may have been by a man conflicted over his sexuality.    He may have been looking to cover his orientation via suicide by cop.    That doesn't really matter.  It illustrates how stigmatized being gay is in these cultures.    It shows the fear, anger & hatred these religions have against gay people.  

Some of these people would choose death over a life being gay,  They choose that due to fear, anger, shame & hatred.  These things their cultures & religions shove down their throats.  The actions these people take to end their lives are the direct results of their upbringings.  They were murdered by the faith & heritage.  

What a legacy.

Cya...

Literacy...

I'm not talking about being able to read.  I'm referring to being culturally aware.  This article points out medical care provided to minority/ethnic patients from more culturally aware health providers has a greater level of success as opposed to those professionals who are of primarily mainstream culture.

From following their protocols & maintaining their regimen, the people who were treated by professionals that were more aware of the patients culture fared better than those treated by staff apparently unaware of the patient's background.    This shouldn't be any surprise.  Many times, we feel as if the world is trying to 1-size-fits-all us on a continuous basis.  This approach makes us feel overlooked & isolated.

We want to feel like an individual when we go to businesses, especially those providing medical care.  Being aware of these things, makes the patient feel as if the provider actually has some interest in their well being.  That helps them to become more self-involved with their own treatment.  No one wants to feel like just another notch on the wall.  

Besides the psychological, there are numerous cultural issues that may impact care.  These may range from cultural perceptions of the illness to available food stuffs.   HIV does not discriminate & the treatment of it can't either.  We have to be aware that what works for a 30 something, middle America, White man may not work for everyone else in the world.

Cya...