Not too long ago, HIV research was on the front pages of newspapers and websites. Researchers wanted women to know that there was a driving medical community behind the research taking place and that advancing treatments were being discovered so women could live longer, healthier lives even after contracting HIV. But, all the hype is now gone. You don't see HIV on the front of health news websites. You don't read about HIV studies on medical websites and you don't hear the big wigs of health talking about HIV research. The risk of getting HIV during unprotected sex is twice as high for women, but is the HIV story and hope for a cure dead for women?
Why is HIV Research for Women so Important?
More than 16 million women are currently living with HIV/AIDS. That is a huge number and it's a number that doesn't appear to be growing smaller despite advancements in medical research and education efforts about the syndrome. What is more important is the fact that about 15-percent of women diagnosed with HIV or AIDS between 2001 and 2004 were women between the ages of 13 and 24. Young women all over the world are suffering from a condition for which there is no cure and the media appears to have forgotten all about the epidemic. Has HIV research really taken the backburner or is there another problem?
Keeping HIV+ Women in Treatment
It appears that the problem is not whether or not HIV research is currently underway; it is how to keep young women in treatment to fight the effects of the syndrome. A new study sponsored by RTI International with the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill is just one of the studies attempting to find a way to help women help themselves.
According to the recruitment information, women are simply not staying in treatment long enough. Maybe they think they can skip treatment and the syndrome will somehow just go away. Maybe they don't want to be sick and since they don't feel sick they think everything will turn out just fine without treatment. No matter why young women are skipping treatment, there is a very clear problem that the medical community is not too excited about - thus the lack of medical attention.
Are There Other Studies Out There Trying to Find a Solution?
There are thousands of studies currently underway and even more than have been completed on various aspects of the syndrome, including possible treatments, prenatal interventions and dietary changes. The medical community has not forgotten about the HIV/AIDS epidemic, they are just in deep thought - working hard for men and women of all ages.
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