Sexual orientation is an issue that has been topic of discussion over the world with it being accepted in some communities and rejected in others. In recent, years people have been allowed to engage in same sex relationship, a situation whereby a man is viewed normally despite being in an intimate relationship with another man or lady with a lady. Sexual intercourse, which contributes to a high percentage of the spread of the disease, is of an alarming rate among the African American male between the age of 13-24. The observation is contributed by several factors as a community-based research technique involving several parties show.
Research carried out in America by the Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2005) show that a high number of people who are getting infected with HIV are the African American male between the age of 13 to 24. The rate at which the group is getting infected with the virus is of an alarming rate and after intensive research, several things came up to explain this thing. Lack of knowledge, stigmatisation, and ignorance by members of the African American community arose as the reason for the spread of this dangerous virus. These problems can be explained by use of two theories: the theory of uncertainty and theory of normalisation.
Theory of uncertainty was developed by a professional named Michel in the year 1988. Death of her father was the motivation to come up with this as she had seen what her father had gone through before his death. The theory talks about the danger of unawareness about the disease of the patient and the trauma it gets one through. This causes some problems in the treatment process of a particular patient suffering from a certain type of disease. On the other hand, another theory that can be associated with this aspect is the theory of normalisation developed by Weiss. It involves the carrying out of certain activities or a particular type of behaviour due to the notion that it is common among people of same age or community. What these theories have in common is the point of decision making of a person based on something else and not on a self driven reason.
Uncertainity in illness has from time initiated the need for the professionals especially the nurses to educate the patients faced with chronic diseases for them to know what to expect at the various stage of the disease. It has also brought benefit in the sense that it has created an urge for professionals to learn and research more for them to provide reliable information to the patients. However, it has a weakness of the fact that it has not addressed the effect of continual uncertainty and how this can be sorted.
The basic concepts presented by theory of uncertainty is the lack of knowledge a situation that poses fear in a victim of a certain disease since one does not know what to expect at a particular time. Because of this reason, many tend to hide symptoms and conditions or fail to know the critical time to seek medical attention from the professionals. Not knowing what to expect also makes a patient live with fear the worst at any time that is known to pose a very dangerous psychological torture to the victims increasing the effect of the diseases due to things such as depression. Normalisation also poses a danger in the sense on does not make a decision based on knowledge, but just doing what other people are doing.
Not necessarily are the influences of decision making from the people around an individual but sometimes the driving force come from social media such as movies. These young youths engage in homosexual behaviours with older men due to what they see fro the media or what is done by people of around te same age. This makes an individual feel that it is right to do such a thing not knowing the dangers involved. After one has been infected, the theory of uncertainty comes in even in how the family members will react knowing a person is suffering from this disease. The youths in engaging with older men due to what they see others do poses more danger as older men do not engage in a homosexual act with them due to emotional feelings but just because of satisfying their sexual needs. This makes the older men get involved sexually with more than one person of the age gap stated earlier increasing the spread of the disease in a case where on is infected with the HIV virus (Alexandrova, 2009).
According to the theories presented, it shows that nurses have a role to play in reducing the rate of spread of the disease especially among the African American between the age of 13 and 23. First, communication is one vital aspect that can help put such situation under control (Pratt, 2010). Nurses not only provide medical attention to patients but also spent more time with them and learned more about their feelings and perspective towards various things. The nurses have a better chance of educating the youths and teenagers about the disease and the stages involved reducing the problem of uncertainty when one is faced by a certain symptom. They should educate them that HIV is a disease like any other, and one does not need to be ashamed in the society or when seeking medical help. It poses the need for nurses to carry out intensive research and study on different fields to be able to provide enough information to reduce uncertainty that patients face.
The concepts considered in the context are the meta paradigm concepts involved in the nursing practise. First the concept deals with the view of the nurses towards a patient. It involves viewing of a patient not only as a person but as a project that requires attention and care for full recovery depending on the disorder one is facing. The second one is health. According to this concept, health should not just be viewed as the physical status of the condition of the body of an individual, but also other things such as a mental state, emotional and social well-being of an individual (George, 2010). It may even involve a follow up activity to the homes of the patients to see the recovery especially for older people who suffer from chronic diseases. This follows up activity at home is within the environment part of the meta paradigm concept in nursing.
The other one is the concept of nursing itself whereby it involves that special care and closeness to the patient. It has helped the medical professionals in learning the need and requirements of patients by keeping in touch more often, which makes the patient more comfortable in different areas within the health care centre. Follow up activities can also fall in this category whereby nurses try to know the later stages of recovery of the patient and offer necessary help in things such diet and medication.
The research done if utilised well in the analysis it can help improve a great deal the nursing sector in enhancing the provision of the essential health care services. Nurses should improve the service provision by not just attending to the physical health of the patient but also form a bond that will enhance the healing process and make it more efficient. A patient will open up on other conditions that may not have been diagnosed and whose treatment is important for the healing process of a patient (DiClemente, Crosby & Kegler, 2009). Also, it will enable advice from the nice on such youths who engage in homosexual sex with older men be easier to help the understand the dangers involved and change their ways if possible. Setting out of care clinics by the nurses is also helpful to ensure privacy and confidentiality with certain patients who want the illness to be only between the physician and the patient.
In conclusion, the situation of the spread of HIV among African American between the age of 13 and 24 is a situation that is threatening to the future of not only the people involved but also the society and the world as a whole. Special task goes to the nurses who get closest to the patients and have a chance to change even the mentality of the patient towards something that indirectly will help change the mentality of the society as a whole. Good message concerning several issues in society can also be conveyed through social media to the public about matters on several issues that are seen to be of being threat to the well-being of the members of society.
References
Alexandrova, A., & International Debate Education Association. (2009). AIDS, drugs, and society. New York: International Debate Education Association.
DiClemente, R. J., Crosby, R. A., & Kegler, M. C. (2009). Emerging theories in health promotion practice and research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
George, J. B. (1995). Nursing theories: The base for professional nursing practice. Norwalk, Conn: Appleton & Lange.
Pratt, R. J., & Pratt, R. J. (2010). HIV and AIDS: A foundation for nursing and healthcare practice. London: E. Arnold.
Robinson, P. (2013). Gay men's relationships across the life course.
