Monday, January 27, 2020

Reducing HIV Stigma Among Nursing Students

Reducing HIV Stigma Among Nursing Students 1 The journal article being critiqued is a study of HIV stigma and a study’s intervention at reducing that stigma among nursing students. First, stigma is introduced, the type of stigma’s seen with HIV, and then how those are interpreted in nursing practice. The purpose of the study was to reduce HIV stigma in nursing students through a dynamic course given at a nursing school. The article will be reviewed, analyzed, and critiqued in its significance as a research source and implementation value. A study was carried out by the University of California in India, at a nursing school in a city where HIV prevalence was high. This study consisted of a curriculum, and 91 nursing students. The class was focused on educating and reducing different stigma-influencing measures of HIV. The sample received a pre and posttest that served as the main set of data for how the class influenced the student’s HIV stigma. Statistics was used to evaluate student response data in its measures of standard deviation and confidence intervals. These measures helped the study in deciding whether student answers were significant, or how effective their class was on reducing HIV stigma. An HIV stigma is something that can alters one’s view of a person with HIV that is based on some cultural or social belief. The study believes that stigma can devalue or interfere with care for a person with HIV. This commonly effects people who are drug users, sex workers, or of the male homosexual population. It not only affects a nurse’s care, but also the patient’s motivation to seek care. The study states, â€Å"HIV stigma is considered to be among the greatest impediments to effectively combating the global HIV epi- demic.† There is instrumental and symbolic stigma, which includes misconceptions about transmission and attitudes or beliefs towards the previously stated populations commonly believed to have HIV. The method of this study was at a nursing school in India, St John’s College of Nursing. Second year, English speaking students were the sample group. They were given information about what the study was going to test and signed informed consent to participate. The control group was 46 people, and the intervention group was 45 people. The course was focused on the two types of stigmas previously mentioned and offered on session on instrumental stigma, which included knowledge, fears, epidemiology, transmission, prevention and proper use of PPE. The second session was on symbolic stigma and had a speaker come and talk about their experience with HIV and HIV stigmas. The control received no intervention. A questionnaire was given before and after the interventions that assessed student’s symbolic and instrumental stigmas. They were asked questions like their gender and age, prior care for a person with HIV, their attitudes, misconceptions, fears, discrimination, and so fo rth. The topics of the questionnaires tested demographics, experience with persons with HIV, knowledge of HIV, endorsement of coercive measures, worry about HIV infections, blame, and intent to discriminate. This is included true or false, with different right and wrong misconceptions or truths about HIV. They were tested on whether they agreed with certain statements like mandatory testing, right to refuse an HIV patient, to marry, have children, etc. One question asked if the student blamed people with HIV for their disease or thought they deserved it. There were multiple-choice questions about medication administration and blood draws and precautions to take that tested the student’s intent to discriminate. Each section had a few questions that was intended to test the students aptitude in that subject area. All participants were female and between 18 and 29 years old. Results were found to be significant. Post-intervention found many changes from the baseline that showed a reduction in stigma based on previous definitions. There was a lower percentage of misconceptions in the intervention group compared to the control group. Participants who had preexisting discrimination among people with HIV lowered with a question regarding medication administration, but did not lower with regard to drawing blood. There were a slightly lower number of people who worried about transmission of HIV but were not statistically significant when compared to the control group. On average about 95% of students believed the session was helpful and would change their care towards a person with HIV. About 40% of students were embarrassed to reveal their opinions about it. The questionnaire taken before the intervention showed that the students had a fairly high HIV stigma. Compared the post questionnaire, control group, and preceding results, a conclusion that the course â€Å"showed promise† in lowering stigma of people with HIV was perceived. The questionnaire showed that students had high levels of â€Å"intent to discriminate while performing nursing duties.† In the study it says this may be because of lack of experience. Also students said that people with HIV were blamed for their disease if it was through drugs or sex and believed mandatory testing of sex workers and male homosexuals was called for. One of the biggest findings of this questionnaire was that there was seen to be a lack of knowledge among nursing students in transmission of HIV, blame of persons with HIV, discrimination in a professional workplace, and calling of coercive measures. This shows high stigma levels, which were akin to high discrimination levels of peopl e with HIV. After the course however, it was shown to be effective in giving students more knowledge base for HIV stigma across many dynamics. The post questionnaire showed fewer misconceptions, less blame, and decreased discrimination. Not all data deemed to be statistically significant, but the data that was significant still deemed the course in reducing HIV held promise. It might be more effective with a larger sample that also included male nurses, varying ages, and varying schools. It is significant that this study used a â€Å"convenience sample† of people that were readily available and in a high prevalence HIV area. Taking the study to various states, cities, and people of different cultural and moral values would make this study more significant in it’s actual effectiveness in reducing HIV stigma. Future continuation of this study should look at various population content and high numbers of people, mainly. All measures used to define stigmas, assess stigma levels, and test prejudice was based on a previously developed theoretical model of HIV that had been formulated in India. The definitions and guidelines of the curriculum seemed to be well defined and showed a good possibility of being standardized for larger sample size testing. They were also easy to understand and interpret. The questionnaire was a successful evaluation too l for this study (with 29 questions) and was well defined in the article. It might also benefit this study to try different methods of evaluation other than only using a questionnaire survey technique. It may even be interesting to compare the nursing students results with already registered nurses, experienced nurses, doctors, UAP’s, and patients/civilians. This study is very important to nursing care today. HIV stigma is prevalent and something that is seen daily. Marginalized groups such as homosexual populations, female sex workers, and drug users should not be stigmatized from the moment they enter a hospital or become a patient, that is something they do experience as not only a marginalized group, but also the select few with HIV. Nurses are the basis of these patients’ care and need to be able to give care without bias or discrimination. This requires evaluating ones own beliefs of this stigma. A course that helps nurses through this process while also giving them a dynamic educational and experiential background of stigma’s, transmission, and persons with HIV would be extremely helpful to that patients care. Anything that can help nurses become better, give more effective care, and be more sensitive to others cultures, beliefs and illness is helpful to the medical field, and more importantly, helpful to the patient s healing and disease process. Personally, I believe that people with HIV are stigmatized well beyond due cause. Yes they have an incurable disease, and it can be transmitted through blood, which we deal with a lot as a nurse. But we still need to be professional and give proper care. A person with HIV is something that has been very popular to stigmatize, especially in our social and cultural society in the United States. Even I realized I hold some of these beliefs as I read this study. It is important as a professional, and as a nurse, to make sure we hold everyone to the same standard of care and give continuity in our nursing process. If this course was available to me it is definitely something I would be interested in taking. It can only help me to become a more effective and sensitive nurse to a patient with HIV and it is something that could easily be added into hospital orientation. It would be great to make it available to all staff and be more knowledgeable and less discriminatory against those with HI V and the marginalized population we target when we have an HIV stigma. This study is really just the tip of the iceberg on the subject of reducing HIV stigma, but I feel it’s the step in the right direction and could be vital in finding a way to resolve prejudices against HIV. Citation List 1. Shah, S., Srinivasan, K., Perumpil, S., Ekstrand, M. (2014). Reducing HIV Stigma Among Nursing Students: A Brief Intervention. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 36(10), 1323-1337. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from Sagepub.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Slave Trading Essay -- Slavery

â€Å"African slavery is the corner-stone of the industrial, social, and political fabric of the South; and whatever wars against it, wars against her very existence. Strike down the institution of African slavery and you reduce the South to depopulation and barbarism.† –Lawerence Keitt, South Carolina Congressman, 1860 Slave trading dates back to ancient times, but it did not become popular until the fifteenth century when the Portugese began engaging in slave trading for profit. The colonization of the Americas brought about a new wave of slave importation in the late seventeenth century. A large percentage of the indentured servants and Native Americans were dying from diseases bought to the land by Europeans, and the American colonists were forced to look elsewhere for laborers. They discovered that African Americans were virtually immune to tropical diseases, cheap to import, and were experienced agrarians, so they championed slavery under the premise that African Americans were inferior to their own race. Because slaves were cheap, it was much easier for a planter to work a slave to his death and replace him with another than to treat him well. By the end of the seventeenth century, African American were being imported to the Americas and sold to planters by the thousands. Slavery, indeed, bec ame the â€Å"cornerstone† of America’s economic success. Without the grueling labor of the slaves, the booming sugar, rice, cotton, and tobacco industries would have ceased to exist in the New World. As the Americas evolved from a simple farming society into an agricultural stronghold, settlers became more and more dependent on slavery. By the mid-eighteenth century, slaves vastly outnumbered colonists. During the seventeenth, eight... ...audah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself, volume 1, 70-88. Thomas Clarkson, The History of the Rise, Progress, and Accomplishments of the African Slave Trade by the British Parliament. Ibid. Ibid. Equiano, 70-88. Ibid. Solomon Northup, Twelve Years A Slave, 78-82. Equanio, 70-88. Ibid. â€Å"Management of Slaves, &c,† The Farmer’s Register: A Monthly Publication Devoted to the Improvement of the Practice and Support of the Interests of Agriculture 5, 10 May 1837, 32-33. Ibid. Samuel G. Howe, in John W. Blassingame, Slave Testimony, American Freedmen’s Inquiry Commission Interviews, 386. Ibid. Howe, 385. Ibid. Howe, 386. Joint Select Committee Chairman, Testimony Taken by the Joint Select Committee to Inquire Into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States, volume 1, 1862, 411-412. Ibid. Ibid.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Gillette Case Essay

President, new business development, Gillette Safety Razor Division (SRD) Problem: Ralph needs to achieve company targets for earnings growth for his division by developing a new business product. Ralph has commissioned an extensive investigation into the blank cassette tape market and he views this market as poised for substantial growth and opportunity over the long-term range of ten to fifteen years. Ralph feels that his division is well positioned to enter the market through utilization of its many core strengths. Market Overview The current blank tape market segment has many weaknesses, such as, lack of widespread distribution, lack of media coverage, poor product display and packaging, and lack of a true market leader. These weaknesses in the blank cassette tape market are all areas where Gillette has developed strong core competencies in their Safety Razor Division. The blank cassette tape market is segmented into three distinct product markets: Professional quality, Standard Quality, and Budget Quality and within those segments there are recording lengths of 30, 60, 90 and 120 minute cassette tapes. Bingham’s consultants have focused on the 60-minute cassette tape market in particular. Gillette Safety Razor Division Decisions Gillette has four product options: 1. ) do not enter market. 2. ) enter professional tape market 3. ) enter standard tape market. 4. ) enter the budget tape market. The professional quality market offers the greatest margin on products, but it is also the smallest segment in the market. The professional segment will also have the most competition as more established tape makers enter the market. As such, the fierce competition may potentially saturate the market and decrease the margins on these tapes and make it less appealing in the long run. Alternatively, standard tape market has moderate margins, but is a highly growing segment and is ready for a market leader, such as a company like Gillette. Lastly, the budget market has the lowest profit margins, the highest volume sales, but also requires a high volume of sales in order to be profitable due to the significant fixed costs associated with manufacturing. Gillette’s manufacturing constraints make it difficult for Gillette to enter the budget product market and Gillette would not want to damage its brand name by affiliating with a lower end product such as the budget quality tapes. (See appendix for quantitative analysis) Recommendations & Conclusions The Gillette Safety Razor division should enter the Standard Quality 60-minute cassette tape market and target the teenager and student market as it is a growing segment and offers much potential. Gillette should distribute the tapes using their established channels and wholesalers. Gillette should promote this new line through an aggressive advertising program as a high standard quality tape free from the defects of budget cassette tapes and with greater quality than the average standard tape. Gillette should leverage its brand name to promote the quality and value of these tapes. Gillette’s pricing for the standard quality tapes should be priced at the regular retail price with the design that consumers will choose Gillette’s product and pay more than the discounted brands due to Gillette’s high quality and brand name. In this scenario, Gillette’s monthly break-even quantity would be 518,758 units and it would make a monthly profit of $92,867 if it conservatively sells 750,000 units/mo. in year one. Annualized, the company’s net profit would be $1,114,400 at 9,000,000 units sold. Â  

Friday, January 3, 2020

Essay about 80s Music - 890 Words

Music and the Eighties One of the best known decades for music was the eighties. During this generation, there were a number of landmark events. This decade set a standard for music to evolve from for years to come. One of the most recognized advancements was Mtv. It was first debuted on August 1, 1981. This gave way to the first video jockey (VJ). A video jockey was someone who announced videos and told a brief synopsis of the band. Mtv was an outlet for music videos and a gateway for musicians to get their music to the fans. When it first aired at 12:01 am, the first words were, â€Å"Ladies and Gentlemen, rock and roll†. The first video played by Mtv was, â€Å"Video Killed the Radio Star† by The Buggles. The digital phase wasn’t†¦show more content†¦Mtv has been going strong for almost 30 years. In the beginning, they were told they played too many videos, now they are known for not playing enough videos. Mtv also made way for many music shows. Because of its recognition, more music videos were being played by other stations. Some of these were HBO’s Video Jukebox, WTBS aired Night Tracks, ABC came out with ABC Rocks and VH1 got its start. There was a lot of history making events in the eighties with music. In 1980, the legendary John Lennon of the Beatles was murdered. On May 11, 1981, the popular Reggae music star, Bob Marley died. In 1982, Michael Jackson’s album, Thriller is released. In 1983, the first music CD is sold. In 1984, Marvin Gaye dies, Prince’s first film, Purple Rain is debuted, Michael Jackson gets burned in a Pepsi commercial and Tina Turner makes a comeback. In 1985, Whitney Houston releases her first album and the popular song, â€Å"We Are the World† is produced. In 1988, music CDs outsells vinyl records. In 1989, Milli Vanilli wins the Best New Artist Grammy and then has it taken away because they were caught lip synching. It’s hard to talk about music today without bri nging up music from the eighties. 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