Disease or Disorder

Treatment Modalities

Cultural Beliefs/Practices Affecting this Disease

Epidemiological Statistics

Available Consumer Resources

(e.g., financing, information, support)

Impact on Society

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

• Prevention (education, exposure avoidance)
• Antiretroviral treatment (required to begin directly after infection)
• Antiviral medications sometimes slow disease progression but cannot cure it once contracted.

• AIDS is a disease that only affects the LGBT community (myth).
• Contracting HIV is an automatic death sentence (myth).
• HIV/AIDS is currently incurable (fact).
• Education and proper preventive measures are crucial in fighting this disease.
• Worldwide, 2.5 million new cases reported in 2011 (CDC)
• 635,000 individuals with AIDS have died in the United States to date (CDC).
• An estimated 1.1 million people in U.S. were living with AIDS in 2009 (CDC).
• Websites:
• Funding for prevention and research from the government and private sector
• Educational programs, UNICEF
• Considered a worldwide epidemic (Shi, 2014)
• In 2012, the U.S. government spent more than $20 billion on HIV/AIDS programs and research.
• Has an impact on social lives and sexual practices of all citizens in a given society in one way or another.

www.cdc.gov/hiv/default.html

www.aidshealth.org

www.aids.gov