The Impact of HIV Test Counselors in Iringa, Tanzania

Quality care is necessary for those living with HIV/AIDS and also for people who are at risk for contracting the virus. With improvements of HIV testing techniques and strategies over numerous years, public health initiatives and education has improved the lives of many as well as decrease the risks of contracting HIV. HIV counseling and testing (HCT) is the key to proper intervention for HIV/AIDS in communities heavily impacted by the virus. HCT allows clients to become informed on their HIV status, the sessions encourage safer sex and provides resources to the client for care and treatment. Through counseling and testing offered to the public, HCT strategies can identify infected individuals, raise awareness and expand education to reduce HIV transmission. However, there is a gap between the older and younger population when utilizing resources that allow them to receive HCT resources. Here we show that this leaves the older population more at risk for becoming infected with HIV in Iringa, Tanzania. In the 50 closed-ended question surveys, it reveals 80% of the participants ages 18-30 have been tested for HIV before. HIV Test Counselors and other professionals in the medical field provided information explaining that clients seeking testing and barriers for sexual activities tend to be young adults and adolescence. These results and information provided demonstrates an increase in effectiveness in the younger population but is not getting older generations to seek testing and sexual health resources. Though the HIV prevalence is higher for ages 30-49, efforts have been switched to the younger population because 75% of new infections are in young women and adolescence in Sub-Saharan Africa. HCT techniques changed over time and caused a shift in the target population.Undergraduate Research Office, Professor Christine Poon and Professor Michael TweedleAcademic Major: Public Healt

Age is Not Just a Number: Problems with Florida’s Statutory Minimum Age for Juvenile Delinquency and Why it Must be Increased

Under a Florida law enacted in 2021, any child over the age of six years old can be arrested and subjected to juvenile delinquency proceedings. Florida, as well as the United States in general, is an outlier when it comes to statutory minimum ages for juvenile delinquency. The most common and recommended minimum age internationally is fourteen years old, and many studies show that arresting, charging, and adjudicating children below the age of fourteen is counterproductive, as it leads to increased recidivism, potentially violates due process, and leaves lasting negative effects on children. This comment will discuss juvenile delinquency in the United States, as well as the problems associated with Florida’s current minimum age for juvenile delinquency. Additionally, this comment will address the problems associated with having such a low minimum age for juvenile delinquency and explain how, based on these problems, Florida’s current minimum age runs contrary to the purposes of Florida’s juvenile justice system and does not serve the bases for punishment. Finally, this comment will recommend that Florida lawmakers raise the statutory minimum age for juvenile delinquency to fourteen years old and provide alternatives to traditional juvenile justice procedures in order to mitigate the problems analyzed before and help achieve the purposes of Florida’s juvenile justice system

Therapeutic Children’s Mural

Painting on small canvases has been a hobby of mine since I was a child. My personal passion for tactile art has always made art therapy an aspect of psychology that has piqued my interest. However, I have left it unexplored during my undergraduate college career as a psychology major. I did research on art therapy and discovered that one of the major ideas in the area was that the use of creative activities can promote the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being. I also discovered that art can be seen as a self-esteem builder; the children will always see the mural in their home and feel proud that they completed a project on such a large scale. I also researched therapeutic murals and found that the use of imagery and color can affect the way a person feels. A mural seemed like the perfect project to take on and combine my compassion for children and interest in art therapy. The mural I help direct is in one of the residential homes at Bradley Hospital. As discussed with the program director the residents, eight children with various developmental disabilities will be creating and constructing the mural. I observed the therapeutic components of both the creation of the mural and the final produc

The Promise of a Healthy California: Overcoming the Barriers for Men and Boys of Color

PolicyLink argues for a community approach to expanding opportunities for men and boys of color, acknowledging the importance of "place" to ultimate life outcomes. The report takes key conclusions from "Building Equalizing Schools" and expands on it with recommendations for developing public will and building a platform and infrastructure for action

Transforming coastal and marine management: Deliberative democracy and integrated management in New South Wales, Australia

The integrated management (IM) of coastal and marine environments is an enduring problem, particularly in multi-sectoral and jurisdictional systems, with coastal management of New South Wales (NSW), Australia being no exception. Historically, NSW coastal and marine management was dominated by ecological and economic approaches, implemented in parallel through multiple government agencies with overlapping jurisdictions. A review in 2012 of NSW marine park management recommended addressing the unintended consequences of this management approach, and the Marine Estate Management Act (2014), was established to integrate management of the whole of the NSW coast. This paper discusses the role that a deliberative democratic approach has played in the approach to IM undertaken by the NSW Marine Estate Management Authority (MEMA). The NSW MEMA case study provides a robust reflection of the challenges identified by the literature in implementing effective integrated management, being the alignment of values, visions and methods of assessment, across multiple resources, ecosystems, stakeholders and administrative jurisdictions. Deliberative democratic approaches were used in reviewing the MEMA case to analyse its ability to address some of the challenges and realise benefits of IM. However, despite benefits being identified, a key finding is that achieving integration across multiple agencies with varied disciplinary approaches and organisational cultures, takes a significant amount of time. Even after several years, challenges remain in embedding cultural shifts and resource commitment at all levels to ensure the ongoing successful implementation of IM

Assessing Trade-Offs in Large Marine Protected Areas

Large marine protected areas (LMPAs) are increasingly being established and have a high profile in marine conservation. LMPAs are expected to achieve multiple objectives, and because of their size are postulated to avoid trade-offs that are common in smaller MPAs. However, evaluations across multiple outcomes are lacking. We used a systematic approach to code several social and ecological outcomes of 12 LMPAs. We found evidence of three types of trade-offs: trade-offs between different ecological resources (supply trade-offs); trade-offs between ecological resource conditions and the well-being of resource users (supply-demand trade-offs); and trade-offs between the well-being outcomes of different resource users (demand trade-offs). We also found several divergent outcomes that were attributed to influences beyond the scope of the LMPA. We suggest that despite their size, trade-offs can develop in LMPAs and should be considered in planning and design. LMPAs may improve their performance across multiple social and ecological objectives if integrated with larger-scale conservation efforts. © 2018 Davies et al

Young onset dementia: Public involvement in co-designing community-based support

Whilst the support requirements of people diagnosed with young onset dementia are well-documented, less is known about what needs to be in place to provide age-appropriate care. To understand priorities for service planning and commissioning and to inform the design of a future study of community-based service delivery models, we held two rounds of discussions with four groups of people affected by young onset dementia (n = 31) and interviewed memory services (n = 3) and non-profit service providers (n = 7) in two sites in England. Discussions confirmed published evidence on support requirements, but also reframed priorities for support and suggested new approaches to dementia care at the community level. This paper argues that involving people with young onset dementia in the assessment of research findings in terms of what is important to them, and inviting suggestions for solutions, provides a way for co-designing services that address the challenges of accessing support for people affected by young onset dementia

Adult use of cigars, little cigars, and cigarillos in Cuyahoga County, Ohio: A cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: Adult use of cigars, cigarillos, and little cigars has increased over the past two decades; however, little is known about the characteristics of the users. METHODS: The data were derived from 5 years (2003-2007) of the Cuyahoga County Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, a random digit-dialed telephone survey conducted by ICF Macro International, based on the survey and methods of the Ohio BRFSS. RESULTS: Results indicate that the prevalence of current cigarette smoking across the 5 years was 23.1%. Cigar use and little cigar use were reported by 4.3% and 3.3% of respondents, respectively. Compared with cigarette users, cigar and little cigar users were far more likely to report multiple product use (12.8% vs. 63.9% and 80.5%, respectively). Cigar and little cigar users differed from cigarette smokers in demographic profile and patterns of multiple product use. DISCUSSION: Black and lower income adults were significantly more likely to report use of little cigars and use of multiple products. These disparities potentially contribute to the disproportionate rates of tobacco-related illnesses and underrepresentation of low-income and minority populations in tobacco use prevalence rates