Health Promotion Program

Health Promotion Program

Introduction

There are many substance abuse and mental health organizations throughout the country but minimal effort has been expended in targeting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention programs toward people with mental illness and chemical dependency. The severely mentally disabled population are at a higher risk for HIV infection than the general population (Perehenets, Mamary,& Rose, 2013). HIV prevention programs are at a commodity and rarely within this vulnerable population recognized as a sexually active population let alone at risk of HIV infection. In the health promotion program the proposed program will be a prevention case management approach to reducing the incidence of HIV in people with mental illness or dual diagnosis. The program will include a variety of professional health services, psychiatric care, and individually tailored education on HIV, other sexually transmitted diseases, and safer sex, as well as drug/alcohol treatment as needed. Health promotion being the objective of this program there will be active progress to reduce HIV infection among mentally ill and substance abusing population. The process will include working individually with each client to facilitate the identification and modifying risky behaviors, while also treating mental illness and substance abuse issues in an active effort to improve wellness (Sommer,2013).

In Cleveland, Ohio, there is a limited effort directed toward addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS among people with mental illness and chemical dependency. At the same time, there is a growing phenomenon of HIV transmission through sexual activity among the severely mentally disabled individuals. Mental illness does not increase risk in and of itself, a person with mental illness can, of course, engage in high risk behaviors for HIV infection. Studies of people with Severe Mental Disabilities show that between 4% and 19.4% are HIV positive. In all cases, the seroprevalence rates among people with mental illness are higher than that of the United States population in general (Rosenberg,2013)

Discussion

It is critical for the severely mentally disabled clients to be provided with adequate education about HIV/AIDS and prevention strategies. The typical severely mentally disabled client suffers from a severe thought disorder exhibiting periods of active mental illness and remission. Active periods may include symptoms such as hallucinations or paranoia. Negative symptoms, which appear during remission, may include anxiety, depression, or impairment in thought (DSM IV). During periods of active illness, a client is less likely to engage in unsafe sex or other high-risk behaviors. During periods of remission, however, a client may resort to sex and/or drug using behaviors in an attempt to self-medicate (Sommer,2013). Ironically, one of the periods of greatest risk is when a client receives effective case management, including medication and counseling.(Canuto,2013)

Literature Review

A total of six articles reviewed for this project all where consistent in the recommendation to reduce HIV among the severely mentally disabled population. To reduce the transmission of HIV among clients in this population, risk prevention and education are essential (Sommers,2013). A challenge among this population is the continuous need for intensive case management because studies showed following education and risk reduction activities ...