Mandatory HIV Testing in the Military
Maggie Smith
Davenport University Mandatory HIV Testing in the Military
Since 1985, The United States Defense Department mandates that active duty service members be tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Since then, more than 54 million HIV tests have been performed on over 8 million personnel. Ideally, service members must remain mentally and physically able to perform their mission. Each branch of the military has their own policies regarding the assignments and duty locations for service members with HIV/AIDS; however, three commonalities exist across services regarding frequency of testing, restrictions on enlistment, and retention. In the military, a third individual is entrusted with
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Screening for HIV can identify soldiers in the military who have contracted the disease, and as equally important as detection and is to make sure that it not spread to others. The military represent a highly susceptible population in regards to contracting and spreading HIV because of times of conflict and deployment overseas.
According to UNAIDS (1998), there are several factors that contribute to the spread of HIV among military troops, including being:
• highly mobile, possibly in foreign countries
• surrounded by opportunities for casual sex
• under the constant stress of war which can result in an increase in risk-taking behaviors of a highly sexually active age group
• at an increased risk of drug or alcohol use
• away from families or significant others and lacking intimacy
UNAIDS (1998), “HIV is a threat not only to military personnel but also to their families and community. Military HIV programmes are most effective if there is close collaboration with civilian health authorities. Probably the single most important factor leading to high rates of HIV in the military is the practice of posting personnel far from their accustomed communities and families for varying periods of time. As well as freeing them from traditional social controls, it removes them from contact with spouses or regular sexual partners and thereby encourages growth of sex industries in the areas
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Their argument is that are the human rights of privacy and autonomy of soldiers are violated by mandatory testing. Soldiers also cannot question superiors ' orders the way most civilians can. Another reason people Secondly, they believe that with a possible or probable, inappropriate release of information about the test result, these individuals will suffer discrimination not just in terms of health services but also in other areas of life.
Confidentiality
There is much misinformation and unwarranted apprehension about who is or who can be a source of infection. Allegations and suspicions can be disruptive to unit morale and unjustly harm professional standing and acceptance in military units. There are potential and real problems associated with disclosing a person’s HIV positivity, such as discrimination in employment, health and life insurance, school attendance, etc. For these reasons, HIV test results must be treated with the highest degree of confidentiality and released to no one without a demonstrated need to know. Strict compliance with the provisions of the Privacy Act instructions is required. All command and medical personnel with access to such information must ensure careful, limited distribution to affirmatively combat unfounded innuendo and speculation about the meaning of the
Discuss the effects of war on the soldier. Are the effects of war on the soldier worthwhile? If so, in what capacity? If not,
Standard 6: In military environment there are medical records of patients. Printing out the lab work or information of medications is done elsewhere, since there is not a printer close by my computer. These records are privileged papers because it is a baseline bloodwork for the program. Before handing the papers to the participant we have them tell me their full name and last four of their social security.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, her family, and researchers who have exploited her cell line under the name of advance in medical research. In 1951, when Henrietta Lacks was treated for cervical cancer at John’s Hopkin hospital, a physician collected her cervical cancer cells and handed to a researcher without proper process of informed consent. In a research lab, her cancer cells were harvested and disseminated to other labs. Henrietta’s cancer cells become the first immortal human cell line and became widely used for scientific research. When her cell lines were sold by billions throughout the entire country and HeLa cells became popular research tools in the scientific community,
Trust is a key aspect of the Army Profession. The soldiers must have trust in faith in one another, knowing that they will be there when you need them. Soldiers also must have trust with their leaders because if they cannot trust their leaders why would they want to go to war with them? Families of the soldiers too must have trust in the Army to protect their father, brother, son etc. The American people must have trust in the Army to protect them and also not to commit any harsh or unmoral acts on
Society thinks that this problems come from the stress they go in war known as PTSD. I acknowledge that the PTSD is to regards the fault, killed, and grief soldiers experience in war. Tom and Anthony walked for five months to regain confidence, hope, and love. When soldiers come back from war, they have to fight with mental demons like flashbacks. This leads the soldiers to cope with unhealthy ways like drinking alcohol.
Military bearing is the start in which every soldier practices either as enlisted or commissioned in order to have good discipline and ethics throughout a military career. Army regulations and soldiers should live by the creed that a military service member should conduct themselves on a daily basis, on and off duty . Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage are Army core values. To be a dependable Soldier you must show your NCO’s that you can be an adult with time management, meet deadlines, be in the right place at the right time, in the right uniform, and doing the right thing at the right time. Dependability is a major aspect of military bearing.
In the recent years, the number of mental health professionals providing for the military has dwindled, there is almost no combat-specific psychologists left, and the wait time to be treated for a mental health issue by the Department of Veterans Affairs has drastically increased. Examining MilitaryOneSource and the Department of Veterans Affairs, two of the most highly regarded military health providers, the lack of mental health services for veterans and active duty members has diminished and has resulted in a multitude of veterans going untreated or even ending their own life instead of receiving the help they
Another issue that veterans struggle with when they come back from war is mental illnesses like PTSD. According to “bringing the war back home”, “Of 103 788 OEF/OIF veterans seen at VA health care facilities, 25 658 (25%) received mental health diagnosis(es)”. This disabilities can make getting into the workforce much more difficult and even leave veterans to live on the streets from lack of employment. The solution discovered from this research is that if these mental diseases are caught early enough, the veterans will receive the help they need and be able to continue their normal civilian lives. “Targeted early detection and intervention beginning in primary care settings are needed to prevent chronic mental illness and
A constant watch over mental health issues of all military servicemen and women has gone under the radar in the past few years due to a lack of knowing how unrecognizable the problem just might be. The magnitude of this problem is enormous. A recent report finds that the estimates of PTSD range from 4 to 45 percent for those soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan (Cesur, Sabia & Tekin, 2012). Research suggested that other serious medical issues are likely to accompany the PTSD diagnosis, such as cardiovascular disease, and chronic pain (Frayne, et al, 2010). Compiling mental health issues, physical ailments along with family reintegration can prove overwhelming for a returning veteran.
navy at the age of 19 as well. He was sent out to vietnam were he saw heavy fighting and mass casualties. He worked aborde a supply ship supplying weapons and food to the U.S. forces. During this time in the Military Gary began to have frequent sexual intercourse with many of his coworkers. At the time he was on the boat and having sex with his coworkers he contacted gonorrhea because he did not use protection.
When I raised my hand, and took my oath of service I had no idea of the journey Leadership Philosophy that laid ahead of me. Joining late in life was one transition, but the transition into the Non-Commission Officer (NCO) Corps, and a leader has been a very rewarding experience. The values that were instilled in me as a child and those that have been drilled into my make-up as an NCO are very similar. The tenants of the seven Army Values have been what I have lived by most of my life and career, however there are four out of the seven values that I hold most valuable and live out on a day to day basis.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in The Things They Carried During the turbulent times of the Vietnam War, thousands of young men entered the warzone and came face-to-face with unimaginable scenes of death, destruction, and turmoil. While some perished in the dense Asian jungles, others returned to American soil and were forced to confront their lingering combat trauma. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried provides distinct instances of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and reveals the psychological trauma felt by soldiers in the Vietnam War. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD for short, is the most common mental illness affecting soldiers both on and off the battlefield.
Because of the stigma of obtaining military personnel being perceived as weak, and trying to deal with challenges without any professional assistance. However, the protective factors are present at the beginning of treatment. One of the main protective factors that many of military personnel has is the sense of family.
William Bainbridge Ethics Paper Abstract: This brief but informative paper will cover the ethical aspects and implications of sexual harassment in the Military. Sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination and often displayed in the form of unwanted attention or unwanted sexual advances or unwanted sexual actions. Specifically, this paper will focus intently on sexual harassment in the Army and the problems that entails. The ethical problems regarding sexual harassment are significant because of the unique environment that the Army conducts its self.
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