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HIV Among Young Adults in South Africa

Health Prevention and Intervention Approach

In this most severely affected region, South Africa, meeting the challenge and what is

needed to turn the tide in the prevention of this pandemic and communicable disease is to

primarily develop specific interventions approaches among the vulnerable population. According

to David Heymann (2004), for HIV prevention plans to work, the full commitment and

engagement of the affected individuals themselves, the community, and political entities can be

very effective to help change and reduce the high HIV risk behaviors among the young adults.

The public health care workers and agencies established different interventions through an

assessment process to engage the problem. Also, including young adults’ perspective and

feedbacks in the assessment process or designing prevention and intervention programs was

greatly encouraged.

There are two out of many approaches that we will consider and discuss to tackle the HIV

epidemic in South Africa. One approach that the public health would consider is the exercising

of the three types of preventions; primary, secondary, and tertiary preventions. The primary

prevention type, focused on preventing HIV from taking place. This is preventing the exposure

and introduction of awareness among the young adults to the infectious disease. Health education

and advocacy encourage awareness and understanding that the extreme and long-reaching effects

of HIV is one of the leading causes of death and disabilities in the area. Statistical data must be

included to visually explain the number of deaths or disabilities from HIV to discourage them

from risk HIV behaviors. These risk behaviors involve using protective measures like condom-

use during sexual relationships, being involved with one partner or partner change, and being

aware of who your partner is, and his/her health status and past medical history. Behavioral
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intervention also includes limited or eliminated substance abuse. The secondary prevention starts

by minimizing the severity and complications of the effect of HIV among the infected

individuals. By establishing and promoting programs for health screening and early detection in

the community reduce infection complications and provide early treatments. To stabilize an

infected victim, the application of the antiretroviral therapy (ART) and other effective

mediations, can provide him or her with the chance to fight off infections and other HIV-related

illnesses, if treated early. The tertiary prevention, as a last stage, prevent the extreme and reduce

the severe impact of HIV in the community (usually resulted in death). This prevention involves

the prolong utilization of medical treatments and clinic or hospital rehabilitations, known to be

an expensive prevention among all.

The second public health approach, is the disruption of the chain of causation method.

The chain of causation causing the illness involves an agent, a host, and the environment

(Schneider, 2014). And eliminating or interrupting the chain at any level can be effective to

prevent HIV. The agent here is the retrovirus infectious agent or the human immunodeficiency

virus and continues to be an emerging infectious disease in South Africa for many years. The

virus is mostly controlled through the using of ART and preventive and therapeutic HIV

vaccines. The hosts, are the diagnosed and the affected young adults. And interrupting the host

level is accomplished by various treatment with medications and/or the death of the victim. It is

also disrupted by educating the hosts to change their lifestyle so as to limit their exposure to

HIV. The interrupting of the environment chain stage can be accomplished by eliminating the

means of HIV transmission among the vulnerable and the already infected population. The health

screening program can prevent HIV individuals from donating blood, as a result stops

transmission of the virus to others. This also can be secured through sanitization concepts like
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using clean needles and not sharing needles among the substances that abuse young adults. In

addition, young adults should not engage in activity or living in a known HIV environment in

order to prevent infections.

Therefore, designing health preventions and interventions specifically to address HIV

through these two public health approaches can help alleviate the burden of HIV communicable

disease among young adults in South Africa.

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References Cited

Heymann, D. (2004). Control of Communicable Diseases Manual. Acquired Immunodeficiency

Syndrome. American Public Health Association. 18th ed. 1-8.

Schneider, M.J. (2014). Introduction to Public Health. Public Health: Science, Politics, and

Prevention. Jones & Bartlett Learning. 4th ed. 10-13.