Supervision and Planned work description
My Field practicum will take a duration of six months from 1st March 2016 to 28 August 2016. I will be working for three days a week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I will report at 8.30 a.m. and leave at 3.30p.m. Before commencing to the field, I will report to the supervisor first, to make an update on the previous day’s outcomes, meet goals and challenges. Besides, I will discuss what I am working on for the day and where I will visit. The purpose is to ensure that am rightly guided by the supervisor on how to address any setbacks or concerns that I face in the field.
Nature of my assignment
My research involves HIV prevention among black men who have sex with the other men. The geographical coverage is North America and particularly the US and Canada. Existing literature shows that black gay men in the USA and Canada have twice a high chance of getting infected with HIV compared to the white gay men living in the same country with similar sexual risk behaviour . It is attributed to the fact that blacks are the minority within a larger population, and most of them are immigrants from countries that have experienced war. Besides, it can also attributed to the stigma that the black population attaches to HIV. Therefore, most infect people hide their status and are reluctant to start medication. Therefore, they likely to infect many people who are unaware of their status.
During my research, I will first identify the areas with high numbers of black gay men. I will focus on the places they frequently visit and establish rapport with them. Consequently, I will ask them if they know their status and ask them to refer me to other gay black men, after which I will convince those who do not know to come for testing. I will advise those who are already positive to seek HIV counseling and education in a specific testing center that I would have organized with the help of my supervisor and a medical practitioner. I will focus on engagement and mobilization of the community. I also intend to visit several prisons talk to them and organize a testing, counseling day and as well distribute condoms to the inmates and the BMSM.
My objectives include:
Being unaware of one's status, especially when one is HIV-positive, increases the chances of HIV transmission . Therefore, at the end of the practicum, I intend to have ensured that most of the BMSM know their status in the area that I carried out my research. Besides, I will ensure that the barriers to getting tested, receiving pre- and post-test HIV counseling are addressed and that they receive treatment without discrimination. In addition, those who are positive are given proper post-test counseling to help them disclose to their partners. I will also ensure that the BMSM are aware and are using the preventive measures put in place to prevent acquiring and transmission of HIV.
I will create a list of all the places to visit and the people in charge. Write them a letter to seek permission to visit the sites example the prison administration and attach the responses by March 2016.
Come up with a daily entry form, where all the daily activities would be recorded. After at the end of the practicum that is August 2016. I will compare to the objectives and tick against the ones achieved.
Take notes in all the presentation done, when educating the BMSM on prevention of HIV.
Create brochures containing information on testing, transmission and prevention among the BMSM by April 2016.
References
Levy, M. E. (2015). Understanding Structural Barriers to Accessing HIV Testing and Prevention Services Among Black Men Who Have Sex with Men (BMSM) in the United States. Retrieved January 28, 2016, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4509742/
