Research Paper on:
AIDS Treatment Advances

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
most of these advancements come about because social factors have been the prime motivation behind these advancements. The student will want to further enhance this model paper by taking  a stance regarding these social factors throughout this paper. DESCRIPTION OF HEALTH ISSUE At this point in time, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a fatal disease; once the  condition has moved from the virus stage into full-blown AIDS, there is little that can be done other than to make the patient comfortable for the remainder of his or  her life. Attacking the bodys immune system and rendering it virtually defenseless against outside invaders, AIDS slowly breaks down the bodys ability to fight, ultimately destroying the person a  little bit at a time. "In most of the groups there is still stigma associated with AIDS - repeatedly they stated fear is inevitable because this is a killer  disease" (Olenja, 1999, 187). Since AIDS is a disease impacting several different populations, the reimbursement issues vary greatly among patient groups. With cases as diverse as a senior who  contracts HIV from a blood transfusion, a professional who contracts HIV from unprotected intercourse, a drug user who contracts HIV from sharing needles, and a baby born with HIV passed  on from his/her mother, HIV-positive consumers defy easy classification. Clearly, each of these case examples represents a different political, socioeconomic, and psycho-social base, though with potentially similar health care  needs. With four primary payment sources: private pay, Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance-based managed care, AIDS patients represent a largely untapped market in the long-term health care field. As  the clich? goes, AIDS does not discriminate. Increasingly the disease is affecting Americans across all strata. From the perspective of long-term care, it is important to recognize that