Reflection on course

I can’t believe it’s already week 10. This class is one of the more interesting classes I have taken here at Oregon State. This class is what I expected; it was fun as well as interesting learning about how to protect myself from STIs. What was covered that I was not expecting was the unethical studies done in the past. I was every eye opening and I learned that the rights we have today was not always there and had to be earned. The most useful was learning about how to protect myself from different types of STD’s. Coming into this class, I did not know that there were so many different kinds of STD’s that can be spread, but this class cleared up any false facts I had about them. One thing I did find the least useful was the stuff we did in the beginning of the term about ethics, although I think it would more closely relate to someone who is going into the medical field. I also found the biology talk about HIV really hard to follow, since I am not a Biology major and don’t really have a background in it, I found it just hard to follow. And yes I think this is an important topic to be taught at a university level since lot of university students are sexually active.

BOB

I learned that as an HIV positive person, he can still live a simi-normal life. With the help of drugs I was surprised that a person can live that long. He was diagnosed in 1990 and is still living 19 years now. I learned that he had to completely change his lifestyle quitting drug use and alcohol. It makes sense because now that he is HIV positive he needs all his strength to stay as healthy as possible. I also learned that money is tight with the anti viral drugs costing him so much money, so his spend habits had to also change. I think Bob’s experience is similar with others around the globe in the fact that once you find out that you are HIV positive, you have to change your lifestyle to be able to live longer like Bob. You have to eat healthy and exercise to keep your body as healthy as possible to try and keep away from infections.

Bob said HIV is transmitted in rural regions via heterosexual intercourse. When a male is asked to use a condom by a women, they might be beaten or even killed just because of them asking. So it is due to gender inequality of females.

Living with HIV in a rural region is tough because of the lack of money and health care. In rural areas there are no clinics and health care providers to administrator treatment to the infected. Another reason is because of the cost of the drugs. Someone living in rural regions might not be able to afford it.