Here is a link to a video report that I compiled along with two other classmates.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC4LJIJRIrU
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
A good recent article from the Miami Herald
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES: Study: 1 in 4 teen girls has STD - One in four U.S. teenage girls has an STD , a study found. For those who work with adolescents in South Florida, the numbers only enforced what they already knew.
Miami Herald, The (FL) - March 12, 2008
Author: ERIKA BERAS, eberas@miamiherald.com
To those who work with teenage health issues in South Florida, the news of one in four adolescent girls being infected with a sexually transmitted disease is not shocking.'If you ask any local department of health, anywhere in the country, they will say -- 'Where have you been?' " said Alex Moreno, director of outreach at the University of Miami medical school's division of adolescent medicine. Sexually transmitted diseases, which if left untreated can cause cervical cancer and infertility, are so prevalent among girls and young women in Miami-Dade County that two years ago, the Health Department waived the fee for STD testing at its clinics for females ages 15 to 24. "They are the ones we target," Moreno said. "We know this. We see this every day, firsthand." In Broward, the county Health Department has a sliding scale of fees for STD testing at its teen clinics. A first-of-its-kind federal study released Tuesday found that at least one in four U.S. teenage girls, or 3.2 million, have a sexually transmitted disease. And for black girls, the number is higher -- one in two were infected. TOO MANY AT RISK "What we found was alarming," said Dr. Sara Forhan, a researcher with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and the study's lead author. "This means that far too many young women are at risk for the serious health effects of untreated STDs, including infertility and cervical cancer." The study tested 838 14- to 19-year-old girls during 2003-04 for the four most common infections: human papillomavirus or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer; chlamydia, which can cause infertility; trichomoniasis, and herpes simplex virus. The highest rate of infection was for HPV. The overall STD rate among the 838 girls was 26 percent, which translates to more than three million girls nationwide. The prevalence among teenage girls may be even higher, because STDs such as syphilis, HIV and gonorrhea were not tested. The study's authors said limited access to healthcare contributed to the higher rates among black girls. White non-Hispanics and Hispanics had infection rates of one in five. 'ACROSS THE BOARD' South Florida doctors say, however, the problem cuts across racial and economic spheres. "I see the girls at Jackson [Memorial Hospital] . . . they are immigrants. Some come from the rape treatment center, some are coming into my private practice," said Dr. Onelia Lage, director of adolescent community health at the UM medical school. "This is across the board." About half of the girls studied acknowledged having sex. Among those who admitted having sex, the rate was even more disturbing -- 40 percent had an STD . The CDC recommends that girls and women between ages 11 and 26 be vaccinated against HPV, and that annual chlamydia screenings be done for sexually active women younger than 25.
Miami Herald, The (FL) - March 12, 2008
Author: ERIKA BERAS, eberas@miamiherald.com
To those who work with teenage health issues in South Florida, the news of one in four adolescent girls being infected with a sexually transmitted disease is not shocking.'If you ask any local department of health, anywhere in the country, they will say -- 'Where have you been?' " said Alex Moreno, director of outreach at the University of Miami medical school's division of adolescent medicine. Sexually transmitted diseases, which if left untreated can cause cervical cancer and infertility, are so prevalent among girls and young women in Miami-Dade County that two years ago, the Health Department waived the fee for STD testing at its clinics for females ages 15 to 24. "They are the ones we target," Moreno said. "We know this. We see this every day, firsthand." In Broward, the county Health Department has a sliding scale of fees for STD testing at its teen clinics. A first-of-its-kind federal study released Tuesday found that at least one in four U.S. teenage girls, or 3.2 million, have a sexually transmitted disease. And for black girls, the number is higher -- one in two were infected. TOO MANY AT RISK "What we found was alarming," said Dr. Sara Forhan, a researcher with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and the study's lead author. "This means that far too many young women are at risk for the serious health effects of untreated STDs, including infertility and cervical cancer." The study tested 838 14- to 19-year-old girls during 2003-04 for the four most common infections: human papillomavirus or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer; chlamydia, which can cause infertility; trichomoniasis, and herpes simplex virus. The highest rate of infection was for HPV. The overall STD rate among the 838 girls was 26 percent, which translates to more than three million girls nationwide. The prevalence among teenage girls may be even higher, because STDs such as syphilis, HIV and gonorrhea were not tested. The study's authors said limited access to healthcare contributed to the higher rates among black girls. White non-Hispanics and Hispanics had infection rates of one in five. 'ACROSS THE BOARD' South Florida doctors say, however, the problem cuts across racial and economic spheres. "I see the girls at Jackson [Memorial Hospital] . . . they are immigrants. Some come from the rape treatment center, some are coming into my private practice," said Dr. Onelia Lage, director of adolescent community health at the UM medical school. "This is across the board." About half of the girls studied acknowledged having sex. Among those who admitted having sex, the rate was even more disturbing -- 40 percent had an STD . The CDC recommends that girls and women between ages 11 and 26 be vaccinated against HPV, and that annual chlamydia screenings be done for sexually active women younger than 25.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Online Reporting update
So far this course has enlightened me a little about AIDS. Admittedly I haven't been researching as much as I should. I liked reading some people's personal accounts. Since, starting this class I have learned more about the subject of AIDS. I listened to some NPR stories in which people tell what it is like living with HIV/AIDS, and how it is really difficult to live with HIV and the drug treatments can be difficult.
The person I interviewed for my blog story told me the same thing, that people don't realize how difficult the drugs can be. He also felt that not enough was being done to teach people prevention. He said he can't believe that AIDS has been around for so long and people are still being infected even with all the knowledge out there. One fascinating thing I learned from reading up on AIDS is that there is actually a small minority of people who are immune to the virus. The are descendants of people who lived in small isolated communities during the time of the black plague in Europe.
Most of the articles I read say that South Florida has one of the higest rates of infection in the country, which I knew already.
I still don't know enough about how people get treatments if they have no insurance. I don't know how hard or easy it can be to get on government assistance programs. I don't know enough about the latest reasearch being done. I don't know who are the leaders fighting against AIDS in our community. I still don't know anyone who has AIDS. I hope to learn more as the class goes on.
The man I interviewed for my story works for an AIDS research clinic and he wanted to learn more about the disease when his brother became infected with it twenty years ago. He then became involved in educating the public on AIDS. When people have a personal stake it seems they become more active with an issue.
I have come to learn that there are many people who are involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS and that fight involves complex issues such as cultural taboos. In a multi-ethnic community, there should be an unlimited number of options on on how/where to do a story, how do people in the Haitian Community fight against the stiugma of AIDS, a black co-worker told me that most people in the black community don't like to talk about AIDS.
Being in this course has taught me that the issue is much more complex than it would appear, this is not the flu virus, and I've also learned that the issue is not being covered enough by the local media.
The person I interviewed for my blog story told me the same thing, that people don't realize how difficult the drugs can be. He also felt that not enough was being done to teach people prevention. He said he can't believe that AIDS has been around for so long and people are still being infected even with all the knowledge out there. One fascinating thing I learned from reading up on AIDS is that there is actually a small minority of people who are immune to the virus. The are descendants of people who lived in small isolated communities during the time of the black plague in Europe.
Most of the articles I read say that South Florida has one of the higest rates of infection in the country, which I knew already.
I still don't know enough about how people get treatments if they have no insurance. I don't know how hard or easy it can be to get on government assistance programs. I don't know enough about the latest reasearch being done. I don't know who are the leaders fighting against AIDS in our community. I still don't know anyone who has AIDS. I hope to learn more as the class goes on.
The man I interviewed for my story works for an AIDS research clinic and he wanted to learn more about the disease when his brother became infected with it twenty years ago. He then became involved in educating the public on AIDS. When people have a personal stake it seems they become more active with an issue.
I have come to learn that there are many people who are involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS and that fight involves complex issues such as cultural taboos. In a multi-ethnic community, there should be an unlimited number of options on on how/where to do a story, how do people in the Haitian Community fight against the stiugma of AIDS, a black co-worker told me that most people in the black community don't like to talk about AIDS.
Being in this course has taught me that the issue is much more complex than it would appear, this is not the flu virus, and I've also learned that the issue is not being covered enough by the local media.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Veteran AIDS worker was inspired by brother’s death.
When Juan Casuso found out that his brother Gabriel had AIDS twenty one years ago he wanted to learn as much as he could about the disease. Juan looked up articles and spoke with the nurse who came to visit Gabriel almost every day. “She told us the things we needed to know, like what precautions to take,” said Casuso
Gabriel was diagnosed with AIDS in 1986 and he participated in a clinical trial for AZT, a drug that was being introduced at the time to treat AIDS. Gabriel did not respond well to the drug, he became anemic and there was not much that could be done for him. “Eventually he came home so we could make him comfortable,” said Juan Casuso.
Casuso has worked at the University of Miami’s AIDS Clinical Research Unit (ACRU) for twenty years now, where he is the screening director. He decided to get into the field of AIDS research after his brother died, because he wanted to learn more about the disease and see if he could help.
Casuso reviews patients medical history and ascertains if they qualify for clinical trials at the research unit. He also sits down with the patients and talks to them about the disease. “The main thing is to give them information; there are still a lot of misconceptions out there,” said Casuso.
Patients at the ACRU undergo clinical trials for medications yet to be approved by the FDA or for trials involving new uses for existing approved drugs. They also receive medication while they are undergoing the trials. “For the patients its like a regular trip to the doctor’s office, the nurses attend to them and the doctor’s come to see them.”
Casuso, typically sees about three people per day for screening. He sees an ethnic mix of applicants. “I see people of all different races, ages, some older, some younger. Miami is an ethnically diverse place, so you get ethnically diverse patients.”
“When I started here, this was the only place in Florida where people could go for treatment.” Now, there are a lot resources for HIV/AIDS.”
Casuso also got involved by going out to the community and trying to educate people about AIDS.
Juan believes that the tide in the fight against AIDS started to turn when it became apparent to politicians that the disease was affecting the general population and not just minorities.
“There was a lot of misinformation, and people were not very receptive.” “I remember at the time that there was a big debate in the country about using the word ‘condom’ on television. You couldn’t say it. People didn’t want to talk about AIDS”.
As AIDS began to infect different and larger populations, more people where aware of the disease and perhaps knew someone who had it. “They were maybe not infected but they were affected by it,” said Casuso.
Even with today’s resources Casuso still witnesses a lot of public ignorance about AIDS.
“People tend to think that because there are drugs to treat the disease that they’ll be able to live with AIDS and be fine. But, there are side effects to the drugs and sometimes they don’t respond.”
“I have young people coming In often who are newly diagnosed, we aren’t doing enough to educate the public about prevention.” said Casuso.
When Juan Casuso found out that his brother Gabriel had AIDS twenty one years ago he wanted to learn as much as he could about the disease. Juan looked up articles and spoke with the nurse who came to visit Gabriel almost every day. “She told us the things we needed to know, like what precautions to take,” said Casuso
Gabriel was diagnosed with AIDS in 1986 and he participated in a clinical trial for AZT, a drug that was being introduced at the time to treat AIDS. Gabriel did not respond well to the drug, he became anemic and there was not much that could be done for him. “Eventually he came home so we could make him comfortable,” said Juan Casuso.
Casuso has worked at the University of Miami’s AIDS Clinical Research Unit (ACRU) for twenty years now, where he is the screening director. He decided to get into the field of AIDS research after his brother died, because he wanted to learn more about the disease and see if he could help.
Casuso reviews patients medical history and ascertains if they qualify for clinical trials at the research unit. He also sits down with the patients and talks to them about the disease. “The main thing is to give them information; there are still a lot of misconceptions out there,” said Casuso.
Patients at the ACRU undergo clinical trials for medications yet to be approved by the FDA or for trials involving new uses for existing approved drugs. They also receive medication while they are undergoing the trials. “For the patients its like a regular trip to the doctor’s office, the nurses attend to them and the doctor’s come to see them.”
Casuso, typically sees about three people per day for screening. He sees an ethnic mix of applicants. “I see people of all different races, ages, some older, some younger. Miami is an ethnically diverse place, so you get ethnically diverse patients.”
“When I started here, this was the only place in Florida where people could go for treatment.” Now, there are a lot resources for HIV/AIDS.”
Casuso also got involved by going out to the community and trying to educate people about AIDS.
Juan believes that the tide in the fight against AIDS started to turn when it became apparent to politicians that the disease was affecting the general population and not just minorities.
“There was a lot of misinformation, and people were not very receptive.” “I remember at the time that there was a big debate in the country about using the word ‘condom’ on television. You couldn’t say it. People didn’t want to talk about AIDS”.
As AIDS began to infect different and larger populations, more people where aware of the disease and perhaps knew someone who had it. “They were maybe not infected but they were affected by it,” said Casuso.
Even with today’s resources Casuso still witnesses a lot of public ignorance about AIDS.
“People tend to think that because there are drugs to treat the disease that they’ll be able to live with AIDS and be fine. But, there are side effects to the drugs and sometimes they don’t respond.”
“I have young people coming In often who are newly diagnosed, we aren’t doing enough to educate the public about prevention.” said Casuso.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
AIDS in South FL.
As far as I have learned, South Florida, particularly Miami, was one of the first places to see a lot of patients with HIV/AIDS. Back in the late seventies and early eighties, doctors began to see many cases involving people from Miami's Haitian Community. This lead to an unfair stigma about Haitians being the ones who brought AIDS to the United States.
From what I understand Miami-Dade county has a very high rate of HIV/AIDS patients. I think combating the disease in Miami could be pretty difficult considering that we have a large population of immigrants down here who are not being reached out to. They may not have received much education about AIDS in their home countries. Not everyone took Health class in high school.
I remember hearing all about AIDS in school, and being told the measures to prevent infection. I take them seriously.
I think the issue of AIDS is largely ignored by the media in South Florida. I can't recall seeing any major stories done about AIDS in South Florida by any of the major news outlets down here. I think in general HIV/AIDS has been taken out of the national conversation. I remember in the 90'S it was a major issue. Now it seems the media have put off AIDS to talk about terrorism and the failing economy.
I think AIDS is a very relevant issue. I did a report on HIV/AIDS for a journalism class. I remember seeing data that suggest there are high rates of infection in the poor areas of the county. I don't hear much from our local leaders about what they are doing to combat this problem.
I think AIDS needs to be back in the news and the media need to press the leaders on why they don't seem to be doing anything about it. In poor areas lack of education and access to information can seriously up a person's risks of getting the disease.
I personally don't know where any AIDS clinics are in the areas. I haven't the vaguest clue about what the state and county governments spend on AIDS treatments. Miami has a state of the art eye care center, Bascom Palmer, but as far as I know no state of the art AIDS treatment or research center.
All I can say is that I am not very well informed on AIDS. I don't know the challenges facing doctors who treat AIDS patients. I've never spoken to any. I don't know the challenges faced by AIDS patients in South FL, I've never talked to anyone who had AIDS or who I knew to have AIDS.
I think the public in South FL, needs to be better informed on where they can get tested for free, and where they can seek help if they do have HIV/AIDS. I think I need to learn a lot more about it.
From what I understand Miami-Dade county has a very high rate of HIV/AIDS patients. I think combating the disease in Miami could be pretty difficult considering that we have a large population of immigrants down here who are not being reached out to. They may not have received much education about AIDS in their home countries. Not everyone took Health class in high school.
I remember hearing all about AIDS in school, and being told the measures to prevent infection. I take them seriously.
I think the issue of AIDS is largely ignored by the media in South Florida. I can't recall seeing any major stories done about AIDS in South Florida by any of the major news outlets down here. I think in general HIV/AIDS has been taken out of the national conversation. I remember in the 90'S it was a major issue. Now it seems the media have put off AIDS to talk about terrorism and the failing economy.
I think AIDS is a very relevant issue. I did a report on HIV/AIDS for a journalism class. I remember seeing data that suggest there are high rates of infection in the poor areas of the county. I don't hear much from our local leaders about what they are doing to combat this problem.
I think AIDS needs to be back in the news and the media need to press the leaders on why they don't seem to be doing anything about it. In poor areas lack of education and access to information can seriously up a person's risks of getting the disease.
I personally don't know where any AIDS clinics are in the areas. I haven't the vaguest clue about what the state and county governments spend on AIDS treatments. Miami has a state of the art eye care center, Bascom Palmer, but as far as I know no state of the art AIDS treatment or research center.
All I can say is that I am not very well informed on AIDS. I don't know the challenges facing doctors who treat AIDS patients. I've never spoken to any. I don't know the challenges faced by AIDS patients in South FL, I've never talked to anyone who had AIDS or who I knew to have AIDS.
I think the public in South FL, needs to be better informed on where they can get tested for free, and where they can seek help if they do have HIV/AIDS. I think I need to learn a lot more about it.
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