Research Paper on US HIV/AIDS Crisis: Youth, African Americans Severely Affected

According to the diagnosis carried out in the year 2017 in the United States, 41% of the new HIV infections involve youth aged 12 to 29 years (Trejos-Castillo,2019).24% of these cases are experienced by those aged between 13 to 24. One of the groups that are severely affected by HIV/AIDS in the United States is Africa Americans (Romer et al., 2019). Studies have shown that black youth in the United States represents 57% of new infections among the people aged 13 to 24 years (Breunig, 2017). Out of infections of the HIV that occurs among the African Americans youth, a third occur among the youths.

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The rate of new HIV infections among the young females is about six times compared to the infection rates of Hispanics and around 20 times compared to the White female counterparts (Trejos-Castillo, 2019). Most of the infections from young females African Americans acquire the virus through heterosexual contact. Research has indicated that unlike the elder members, many youths do not test for HIV (Jeffries, Sutton & Eke, 2017). That means some may not receive medications or be taught ways to live a healthy life. Research has indicated that lack of awareness is the primary cause of the spread of HIV among the Africa American youth (Trejos-Castillo, 2019). About 17% of these youths are not aware of their HIV status, for that matter (Trejos-Castillo, 2019). The highest infection of HIV in the US is mainly done by people who are not knowledgeable about their condition. More so, many youths shy away from disclosing their status because of stigma. They fear disclosing their sexual orientation to the caregivers. Such a situation prevents them from seeking tests treatment and prevention services. It also inhibits them from getting support from families and friends.

There is a clear indication that African American Youths continue to be inappropriately represented when it comes to the prevention of HIV/AIDS even though many preventive efforts have been carried out to help adolescent avid sexual behaviors (Jeffries, Sutton & Eke, 2017). African American youths have been experienced very high rates of acquiring HIV more than any other race within the US (Jeffries, Sutton & Eke, 2017). Studies have suggested the need for serious examination of this issue consideration various factors other than the individual level issue. The suggestions have called for an investigation of cultural, economic, and cultural differences to ascertain if there is the cause of the situation because even when their sexual behavior is reasonable, the rate of infection still increases (Trejos-Castillo, 2019).

There is a severe challenge of how to improve the current preventive programs that target sexually active adolescents among the African-American population. The sexual risk behavior experienced by this group is very high. According to the ongoing investigations, most of the adults infected with HIV among African Americans mainly acquired the virus while they were adolescents (Romer et al., 2019). Various psychological factors are unique to these youth, which brings them to higher risk compared to the other races within the US (Trejos-Castillo, 2019). The lack of any perceived vulnerability may be the primary cause of this elevated risk among the youth. There is a need to guide these youths on the best ways to change behavior. The change of behavior begins by understanding that one is always at risk. The researchers have found that most of the African American youth do not perceive themselves as being at risk. They usually do not care about the negative repercussions of their behavior, for example, pregnancy, accidents, or infection with HIV/AIDS (Jeffries, Sutton & Eke, 2017). There is a specific population of the youth that has a higher risk of acquiring HIV than the other. This target population includes the gay and heterosexually active teen. The particular intervention has to be tailored to such a community to curb the increasing rates of new HIV infection among the youth.

The studies have indicated that African American youth are currently leading in terms of HIV infections, with 35 %( ages 13-24) years. The heterosexual females accounted for 50% of the females aged between 23 to 19 years.

Studies have indicated that social media one of the most excellent tools that can be utilized in the management and prevention of HIV among African American youth. Even though it is sometimes difficult to control the young population against HIV related risks, social media platforms can be one of the effective platforms that can educate them about the available intervention strategies (Breunig, 2017). Through using social media, these youths will build the desire to listen and participate effectively in their desires. Such platforms also retain their attention well, meaning they could easily concentrate.

The Americans teens have been using social media as just a healthy way of life, making it easy to influence them using the platforms. Survey has indicated that African Americans youths aged from 13 to 19 years utilize Instagram and twitter compared to white counterparts who are fun of Facebook (Breunig, 2017). The content sends to these platforms is humorous and captivating, ranging from photos, memes, images, and videos. Videos can be designed for educative purposes and posted into these platforms to raise awareness among this group of population (Romer et al., 2019). For example, the digital neighborhood can be utilized to inform the youth about the best ways to understand their sexual life and the risks associated with it (Romer et al., 2019). Such content will eventually influence the intentions that lead the child to engage in sexually risky behaviors and motivate them on the importance of avoiding such risks (Jeffries, Sutton & Eke, 2017). The research has confirmed that African-American youth are fun of digital-hood more than any other race, meaning it can work successfully to target them. Therefore, social media usages can be a novel, too, when it comes to an intervention targeting African American youth.

There are various structural differences between the Africa American youths and the White American youth that cause the Youths from African Americans to be more vulnerable to HIV infections. Some of these issues include inadequate access to healthcare, shorter life expectancy, high poverty levels, and high incarceration rates that African American men experience (Breunig, 2017). Higher rates of school dropouts and concurrent relationships make them either less knowledgeable or experience higher risks compared to the whites counterparts.

However, various there is need for multiple strategies to be used in the management of HIV infections among the youth, especially from African-America populations who are at higher risks. There is no single strategy that is 100% effective (Breunig, 2017). The awareness campaign requires multiple methods, with social media being the primary strategy. More so, there is a need for culturally competent programs that educate about the need to abstain from sexual behavior and the use of condoms. More so, there is a need for a parent-child conversation about the dangers of HIV and various risky behavior which the children must avoid (Breunig, 2017). Such communication usually helps the youth to make best and informed decisions concerning personal lives. The government non-governmental organizations should channel adequate resources towards campaigning for awareness concerning the dangers associated with risky behavior among the youths. It should also cure some of the contributing factors. For instance, the government should distribute resources equally to the African American communities so that they can get adequate healthcare. They should also create policies that create jobs for these people so that poverty levels can reduce. This way, their confidence levels, and motivation will go up, contributing to the avoidance of risky behavior among the youth.

More so, there has been a decrease in the status of health education in the US. The training varies substantially, whereby it is sufficient in some areas and completely lacks in other regions. Many people have argued that they do not receive sexual education early enough (Romer et al., 2019). There is also a severe decrease in school where these youth could receive adequate sex education. For example, between the year 2000 and 2014, they reduced from 64% to 41%. Africa Americans are the largest population hit by this disparity (Romer et al., 2019). The research has also indicated that there is a severe decrease in the proportion of adolescents receiving formal education about sexual life. For example, since 2011, 57% of the adolescent females did not receive such training (Romer et al., 2019). Therefore, the government needs to come up with policies that focus on HIV prevention and awareness strategies among the youth, with a specific target on African Americans because they experience the highest HIV infection risk.

References

Breunig, M. (2017). Abstinence-Only Sex Education Fails African American Youth. Journal of Christian Nursing, 34(3), E41-E48.Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28604538/

Jeffries IV, W. L., Sutton, M. Y., & Eke, A. N. (2017). On the battlefield: the black church, public health, and the fight against HIV among African American gay and bisexual men. Journal of Urban Health, 94(3), 384-398. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28409359-on-the-battlefield-the-black-church-public-health-and-the-fight-against-hiv-among-african-american-gay-and-bisexual-men/

Romer, D., Sznitman, S., DiClemente, R., Salazar, L. F., Vanable, P. A., Carey, M. P. & Fortune, T. (2019). Mass media as an HIV-prevention strategy: using culturally sensitive messages to reduce HIV-associated sexual behavior of at-risk African American youth. American journal of public health, 99(12), 2150-2159. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19833995-mass-media-as-an-hiv-prevention-strategy-using-culturally-sensitive-messages-to-reduce-hiv-associated-sexual-behavior-of-at-risk-african-american-youth/

Trejos-Castillo, E. (2019). Technology Platforms and Family Engagement for HIV/AIDS Prevention: Addressing the Needs of Minority Rural Youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 65(2), 171-172.Retrieved from https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(19)30238-1/fulltext