Biomedical Issues of HIV / AIDS Efforts

Biomedical issues of HIV / AIDS

Efforts and initiatives directed toward the prevention of HIV / AIDS are of the utmost importance and a top priority for researchers and practitioners within the healthcare field. Although education initiatives directed specifically toward segments of the population who are particularly high risk of contracting the disease have been the most widely used prevention strategies, research has more recently demonstrated the potential effectiveness of pharmacological agents administered as preventative measures against HIV / AIDS. The following discussion outlines a project aimed at the development of an effective implementation program for preexposure prophylaxis that would encourage and support adherence and effective prevention of HIV / AIDS.

Goals and Objectives

Previous research has provided evidence for the effectiveness of certain medications in the prevention of HIV / AIDS. In particular, recent attention has been paid by researchers toward the effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis for the prevention of infection by HIV / AIDS. Pre-exposure prophylaxis entails the use of anti-retroviral drugs among individuals without HIV / AIDS in order to prevent infection by HIV (Heneine & Kashuba, 2012). This research has stemmed from the demonstrated successes of anti-retroviral medications in the prevention of transmission of HIV / AIDS from mother to child, as well as demonstrated prevention in animal modeled research (Heneine & Kashuba, 2012). Human clinical research trials have investigated the effectiveness of daily intake of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) or Truvada in high risk populations, and findings have shown that these preventative interventions may be effective in providing protection from infection by HIV / AIDS (Heneine & Kashuba, 2012; Myers & Mayer, 2011). A topical vaginal gel has also been examined for the prevention of HIV / AIDS among women, which was demonstrated as significantly significant as a preventative agent (Abdool et al., 2010). Further research is required to confirm the safety and effectiveness of these preventative strategies (Krakower & Mayer, 2011).

The factor that has been shown to most significantly attenuate benefits provided by pre-exposure prophylaxis is non-adherence (Myers & Mayer, 2011). Therefore, the objective of this project is to develop an implementation program for pre-exposure prophylaxis that could effectively promote adherence to the program through various efforts. Factors that could be used to promote adherence will be explored in relation to how well they encourage participants in the pre-exposure prophylaxis program to remain with the prescribed medication schedule.

Project Organization