Online databases
Online databases including NIH, CINHAL, EBSCO, and PubMed may be used as the primary sources of research information, while books and peer-reviewed journals obtained from Google scholar comprise the secondary sources of information. The research will also look to data from community health intervention programs that may not have published in the research literature but serve as programs, which can be analyzed for best practices, such as the Southern California Border HIV/AIDS program (Scolari, 2006)
The review will also look at the information on the programs that may be reported in professional meetings or on websites that have not been published in professional journals.
The procedural steps will involve a systematic review of the literature and publicly available websites and databases. For this study, the problem revolves around the need to encourage Hispanics in the Southwestern United States to get screened for HIV regularly to reduce the infection rate and for early treatment to reduce the probability of death due to AIDS-related illnesses.
In a systematic review, the first step consists of identifying the research question, which is finding the best practices that can be implemented in community health nursing to encourage Hispanics to get regular HIV screening as well as early treatment. A review protocol will then be created, involving and the production of a review protocol template which discusses the key attributes of the research. Aspects such as conceptual discussion of the problem, review questions, search strategy, the criteria of including and excluding studies, the procedure of extracting data, data synthesis procedure, and record-keeping will be incorporated into that protocol. Studies on HIV infections, treatment, and healthcare among Hispanics will be included, while studies on HIV infection for studies conducted outside the United States and Mexico will be excluded. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The data will be extracted, analyzed, and interpreted to summarize evidence that can be utilized in practice to improve healthcare. The final step is to analyze the data to ensure that the research question is answered according to the plan. Thorough research is vital to ensure all aspects of the topic under study are evaluated. Data will be extracted from the available sources, and it will be used to deduce the best ways to encourage early screening and treatment among the Hispanic population.
GRADE is an acronym standing for Grading for Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation. This method helps to grade certainty of the evidence and that of the corresponding recommendations by ensuring a systematic and explicit approach. This method prevents errors, helps in critically appraising the decisions made, and has a positive impact on the communication of the information (Schünemann and Santesso, 2018).
Judging evidence and recommendations has been a complex process in the healthcare sector. Decision making depends on whether individuals agree on the evidence to include in outcome measurements, assessment of their quality, and even on the specific outcomes to be considered. The same adverse effects of the method are seen for those using practice guidelines. Although practice guidelines are universal, some of them differ depending on the region or the local authority.
GRADE reminds the researcher of the necessary factors to consider when determining the quality of the evidence in question. The approach finds evidence for every outcome separately because these may vary from one to the other. It reminds one to consider all the essential factors before concluding. The use of the GRADE process ensures that the process is systematic and has the necessary transparency.
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The first review of the literature dealt with a better understanding of HIV risk statistics in the U.S Hispanic population. According to the CDC (2019), the population of HIV positive individuals within the American Hispanic population has increased since the year 2010. As identified by the subsequent research studies, new HIV and other STI infections among Latino gay and bisexual men has been a significant contributor to the current rates. In the year 2017 alone, the percentage of bisexual men with new HIV diagnoses was around 26% of those newly diagnosed, which was the highest of all groups (Passel, 2019).
Of the approximately 252,400 American Hispanics living with the virus by the year 2015, only 84 percent of them were already aware of their condition, an indication that members of the community do understand the risk and may not appreciate the value HIV screening and, therefore, do not turn out in large numbers for screenings (Bradley et al., 2014). Only a small percentage of the Hispanic population is aware of the fact that adults should undergo regular HIV screening.
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Several interventions, models, and theories have been put forward in an attempt to correct address the Hispanic population. Several governmental and non-governmental agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed initiatives such as Targeted Highly-Effective Interventions to Reverse the HIV Epidemic (THRIVE) and Project Pride that make HIV infection control, screening, and care activities free and within reach of all the members of the American Hispanic community. The interventions include funding over $400 million annually for the surveillance, health education, and free voluntary HIV screening for American Hispanics, with the most emphasis on gay and bisexual men (White, n.d.)
Organizations like the United Nations Program for HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) and the International AIDS Society – Lancet Commission have been at the forefront in designing HIV prevention policies among at-risk populations.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been a significant leader through its Department of HIV/AIDs Prevention. The organization has addressed the education challenge primarily by making available its resources free of charge for members of the community and other organizations and health providers. Having noted that the new HIV infections in various parts of the United States of America have stayed stable, the CDC has encouraged all to take bold steps to ensure that the numbers only decrease (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). Moving in this path, the organization has developed an initiative dubbed ‘ Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative’ that has been adopted by the federal government as a national plan to combat HIV prevalence among the at-risk communities, such as the Hispanic community in the United States.
The initiative has proposed four key steps that target zero new infections and for retaining the infected persons under the therapy. Among the pillars is an early diagnosis of HIV infections at the grass root levels of the communities. It entails funding free, periodic, and voluntary HIV screening camps within the at-risk populations and groups for persons between the ages of 13 and 64 years.
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Several recommendations can be put forward to address the issues raised by the review of the literature and programs. There are gaps in the community nursing practices that have not encouraged Hispanics to come out for regular HIV screening and lead healthy lifestyles that can keep them safe from the HIV infection. Bisexual men and sex workers remain challenging sub-groups that require additional attention. As part of the improvement, community health providers and nurses should be trained adequately on public health. The use of the social-ecological model can promote a better understanding of how to effectively help people avoid new infections and manage the already present cases of HIV infections. Additionally, there should be a close corporation with the members of the Hispanic community by both the government and other humanitarian agencies to ensure that they have information and access to medical services at all times.