HIV Prevention: Primary Healthcare Nursing for Aboriginal and Torres Islander People

Running head: HIV PREVENTION
HIV PREVENTION
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HIV PREVENTION
Introduction:
HIV is one of the most dangerous viruses that is responsible for the occurrence of Acute
immune Deficiency syndrome, a disorder that is dreaded by every nation in the world. This virus
is mainly seen to target and alter the immune system in the affected individuals thereby
increasing the risk as well as the impact of other infections and the disorders (Bodenheimer &
Bauer, 2016). The virus is seen to pass through sexual contacts, blood transfusions, using of
infected syringes and similar others. Without treatment, the infection may be seen to progress to
a much advanced stage called the AIDS where even minute of any disorders and infections seem
to become threatening as the immune system of the body fails to protect the person from the
various germ and microorganisms. It is indeed very good news to know that Australia had
become successful in fighting with the disorder and emerged out victorious. Data reveals that
total number of HIV notifications of the newly diagnosed cases in the nation had fallen to that of
the lowest number of the diagnoses since the time of 2010 with only 963 notifications in the year
2017 (Relf & Harmon, 2016). Australia had been able to witness a 7% decrease in the number of
HIV diagnoses in the nation in that of the last five years. However, the prevalence of HIV among
the aboriginal and Torres Islander community of the nation reveals the fact that the nation had
yet a long mile to travel to develop a nation completely free from the dreadful disorder (Dawson
et al., 2017). This assignment will discuss how primary healthcare nursing can help the
aboriginal and Torres islander people overcome the disorder and develop a safer community for
the future generations to come.

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HIV PREVENTION
Prevalence of HIV among the Aboriginal and Torres Islander people:
A total of about 1081 notifications of newly diagnosed HIV infection had been found in
the year 2014 where about 33 cases were diagnosed among the indigenous people. About 242
cases of HIV infection had been newly diagnosed in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
population in the entire decade from 2005 to 2014. It had been found that between the years of
the 2012-2014, the notification rate of the newly diagnosed HIV cases in the indigenous
communities had been higher for about 5.9 per 100000 of the people than that of the non-native
people for about 3.7 people per 100000 (Relf & Laureen, 2015). Among the reported cases, the
most frequently reported route of the HIV transmission had been of the sexual conflict between
the males accounting for about 50% of the cases as well as injecting drug use accounting for
about 16% along with heterosexual contacts accounting for about 20% of the cases. 30% of the
cases reported late diagnosis that had their infection for at least four years without being tested.
The famous daily Sydney Morning Herald had come up important information where they
exhibited National Data showing 33% increase in the new cases of the HIV diagnosis in the
indigenous people accounting an increase from that of 438 per 100000 people in the year 2012 to
that of 6.4 per 100000 people in the year 2016. At the same time, the newly diagnosed HIV rates
had been found to be decreased by 22% among the non native communities from that of 3.7 per
10000 populations to that of the 2.9 per 100000 (Kruk et al. 2015). One of the famous comment
made in the daily was “"HIV in Australia is currently considered to be a low-level epidemic, but
there is general consensus that it could rapidly transition to a concentrated epidemic among
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as has occurred among First Nations people in
some provinces of Canada." This shows that the registered nurses working in the primary

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HIV PREVENTION
healthcare services have important responsibilities to take up for reduction of the prevalence of
HIV among the indigenous people in the nation (Turner et al., 2018).
Responsibilities of primary healthcare professionals:
Studies are of the opinion that it is important to approach HIV not as an acute disorder
but as a chronic disorder and thereby the primary healthcare professionals need to focus on a
patient centered approach. It is important for acknowledging the imbalance of power between the
patient and that of the community and healthcare workers (White et al., 2014). This would help
in developing good relationship among the communities and the healthcare professionals and
would thereby help in strengthening community structures in every possible ways that would
help in supporting long –term patient self-management skills. One of the researchers are of the
opinion that “HIV care may start at the health centre, but with increasing patient self-
management, the vast majority of care takes place in the home and in the community”.
The primary healthcare professional should first try to ensure community participation in
prevention of the HIV spread across the communities. Community participation can help the
primary healthcare professionals firstly in raising awareness as well as disseminating information
along with the reduction of the stigma through that of education, acceptance as well as political
buy-ins in the aboriginal communities. Secondly, the nursing professionals can also help in
improving the treatment as well as the care outcomes by providing effective leadership as well as
different support services (Machtinger et al., 2015). Third, the primary health nursing
professionals might also be assisting the assessment, coordination as well as mobilization of the
different resources that would be complementing the health centers as well as the hospital
services. Fourth, one of the efforts that the nursing professionals need to take is ensuring that