Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome among Latinos and Hispanics in the United States

Introduction

There have been concerns about the high prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) among Latinos and Hispanics in the United States. There have been concerns that Latinos are not diagnosing HIV at an early stage when compared to other races such as the blacks and whites. According to Lopez-Quintero et al. (2016), Latinos are more likely to delay their HIV testing till the emergence of an AIDS-defining illness. In this section procedural steps on what practices can be used to persuade Latinos to get tested for HIV regularly will be reviewed in a systematic way.

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In systematic review, the first step involves the description of the research question. In this paper, we discuss the best practices that can be implemented in nursing to encourage Latinos to regularly get HIV screening as well as early treatment. After the definition of the question, the researcher ensures that the required expertise that is required for a systematic review such as quantitative analysis and searching are available. A review protocol is then created. This involves the production of a review protocol template which discusses the key attributes of the research. Aspects such as conceptual discussion of the problem, review questions, search strategy, the criteria of including and excluding studies, the procedure of extracting data, data synthesis procedure and record keeping are usually incorporated in the protocol. For this study, the problem revolves on the need to encourage Latinos to get screened for HIV regularly in order to reduce the huge infection rate and for early treatment in order to reduce the probability of death due AIDS-related illnesses. Studies on HIV infections, treatment and healthcare among Latinos will be included while studies on HIV infection for studies conducted outside the United States will be excluded. Data will be extracted from the available sources and it will be used to deduce the best ways to encourage early screening and treatment among the Latinos.

The next step includes conducting a thorough search for the sources. In a systematic review, sources are very vital as a source of evidence and thus, a thorough such is vital in order to ensure all aspects of the topic under study are clearly evaluated. A search on online databases, journals and websites of medical schools can provide adequate sources for this study. The studies will then be selected and appraised based on the set protocol. This will enable ease of solution of disagreements between different studies and also the assessment of the bias that could be exhibited by the authors of the studies. From then, the data will be extracted, analyzed and interpreted in an effort to avail evidence that can be utilized in practice to improve healthcare.

Problem Statement

Rates for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) continue to increase in the United State among the Latino Community. According to Dominguez (2017), the most recent data by Center for Disease Control (CDC) illustrates that Latinos and Hispanics represented 24%of new HIV in the year 2015 yet they account for 17%of the American population. The ubiquity of HIV is much greater for Latino gays, bisexuals and men who have sexual intercourse with other Latino men with these men accounting for more than 8 out of every 10 new HIV diagnoses among Latino men. Dominguez (2017) estimates that at this rate one in four Latino gay and bisexual men will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. This is a very worrying estimation considering the social and economic implications of HIV/AIDS to communities. This has been the main factor that has resulted in this project that analyzes the best practices for screening and early treatment of HIV among the Latino community

The Implication of the Project's Outcome

The project incorporates evidence-based practice to guide the care of the patients and to improve their outcomes. Evidence-based practice incorporates the integration of the best available research evidence along with clinical values. In this project, the available researches on best practices that can be used by medical practitioners in an effort to screen and provide early treatment for Latinos who are diagnosed with HIV. According to Mctoy (2017), early detection of HIV is beneficial to patients as it enables them to initiate early treatment. Currently, more than 33% of the patients are diagnosed with HIV at a stage where it is too late to hugely benefit from early treatment. Treatments for HIV such as anti-retroviral therapy (ART) are more effective for patients when they are started at an early stage. The sooner after infection the patients begin the treatments, the lesser their probability of developing the opportunistic illnesses and complications that are associated with AIDS.

The benefits of early detection of HIV are not only related to the wellbeing of the patient but also the whole community; it also plays a major role in the prevention of further infection. Mctoy (2017) estimates that people who do not know their HIV status are three times more likely to transmit the virus compared to people who their status. As people comprehend their status, their likeliness of engaging in high-risk behavior reduces exponentially. As people begin the HIV treatment, their viral load decrease to very low levels which in most cases are unnoticeable (Phillips et al., 2015). With unnoticeable viral loads, the risk of transmitting HIV reduces to almost zero. Thus, this can reduce the infection levels in a community.

Thus, this projects main aim is to utilize evidence-based practice to reduce infection rates across Latino population in the United States. The high HIV infection rate among the Latinos is adversely affecting their economic and social wellbeing and, thus necessitates mitigation factors in order to ensure the well-being of the community. Zah and Toumi (2016) estimated that the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for routine HIV testing inpatient testing was $36,800 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and this value increased to $50,000 to $57,000 per QALY for inpatient testing every five years for high-risk patients. This could free money for investment in technology and other core sectors of the economy. Early detection also reduces transmission levels resulting to reduced costs of healthcare, especially on HIV treatment. Reduction of infection rates may also result in the general improvement of the quality of life of a society as the members enjoy a healthier life.

Freshwater (2013) explains that ethics have a very important role in medical profession especially in the strife for medically-based research. Evidence-based practice requires the conscientious use of best available evidence in coordination with clinical practice and patient values a guide for quality healthcare. However, in some cases, the available research is not sufficient and the practitioners have to rely on non-research evidence such as the opinion of experts and scientific principles in the decision-making. Ethics require the practitioners to ensure that there is not sufficient research before incorporating non-research based evidence. The success of evidence-based practice could result in re-evaluation of the ethics in order to determine what is required of medical practitioners in an evolving field.

The projects outcome of decreasing HIV infection rate among the Latinos will result to a healthier population. This will lead to their increase in population resulting to a greater political strength of the community. In a society where voters seem to vote among racial lines, a growing Latino population could be influential in future elections.

Insight into Presentation Approaches

There is a need for the researcher to utilize a presentation approach that is appealing to both the scholars and the medical practitioners. A good presentation approach will ensure that the research paper appeals to the targeted audience and communicates in a way that is coherent and can be easily comprehended by its audience. One major aspect that has to be determined when creating a presentation is the targeted audience (Shrimp, 2016). Different audiences possess different level of education as well as access to different forms of media. While targeting scholars and medical practitioners, there is a need for the prominent use of medical terms and jargon as they are appealing to all the experts in the field. Furthermore, if a research targets the general population, the language used should be simple and precise. In evidence based practice, the main targets for the evidence derived through review of studies are the medical practitioners who can easily be accessed via medical journals and websites of their professional bodies. Use of reputable journals to contact medical practitioners is usually very effective due to the capability of the journals to elicit contributions to the content from the best medical practitioners.

For oral presentation of projects on evidence-based practice, it is vital for an individual to create rapport with the audience. This enables the audience to be attentive to the presenter. The presenter needs to be coherent, precise and interesting. In medicine, conferences and workshops provide an opportunity for professionals to interact and provide vital information on emerging contents in medicine. A presenter who is coherent and utilizes non-verbal cues such as use of gestures and facial expressions as well as the use of visual aids such as PowerPoint slides and charts can be effective for a presenter.

Engaging one's audience during and after a presentation can assist and individual to comprehend and eager to practice evidence-based practice (Nilsen, Neher, Ellstrom & Gardner, 2017). While a good presentation is appealing to the recipients, follow-up ensures that the presenter comprehends the challenges facing medical practitioners as well as the issue that arise from the interaction between the two parties. Follow-up can take different forms depending on the medium of presentation. For example, for journal articles the readers may be requested to write to or email the author to criticize, compliment or to raise issues that they encounter during the evidence-based practice. For oral presentation, this interaction can be done through use of questions. The presenter can ask the audience questions to gauge their understanding of the concepts while the audience can ask the presenter for clarification on any aspect of the business. This enables the audience to provide recommendations to the speaker on how to improve the concept under study. Recommendations and criticism by the audience can enable the presenter to improve their quality of work (Al-Ansari & ElTantawi, 2014). Follow-up after presentation also improves the credibility of the researcher as well as their reputation.

Choice of the Scholarly Product for Dissemination

Due to the large number of available medical studies, successful implementation of cost-effective healthcare technologies can improve the delivery of healthcare. Research in the medical field is becoming a vital component of healthcare practice and the potential for research evidence in the improvement of healthcare provision cannot be understated whether it is clinical practice, managerial practice or decision-making (Shrager, 2010). There is a need for dissemination and transfer of any information that addresses the deficiencies that arise in routine clinical practice.

In order for this evidence to be disseminated properly, it is important for the evidence to be availed in a medium that is easily accessible to medica...