Publication Date

Spring 4-2009

School

College of Arts and Sciences

Major

Nursing (B.S.N.)

Primary Subject Area

Health Sciences, Epidemiology

Keywords

Prevention, Sub Sahara Africa, HIV/AIDS, Uganda

Disciplines

Bioethics and Medical Ethics | Clinical Epidemiology | Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities | Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications | Health and Medical Administration | Health Services Administration | Health Services Research | Immune System Diseases | Maternal and Child Health | Maternal, Child Health and Neonatal Nursing | Medicine and Health Sciences | Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing | Virus Diseases

Abstract

With the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the past thirty years, people of all ages, infants to elderly alike, all over the world, suffer from its adverse effects. Even an unborn baby in-utero can contract this virulent infection by means of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) (Sweeney, 2005). Infants and children diseased in this way comprise 90% of the estimated 800,000 new cases of HIV in children seen each year, but the region hit hardest, however, is Sub-Saharan Africa, with the country of Uganda historically having the highest incident rate for a time (Stringer, E.M., et al. 2008). Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to learn more about the prevention of MTCT in order to attain a better understanding of what is being done in this arena to impede HIV progression, to discover gaps in HIV/AIDS research and application, and to discern new and appropriate avenues in which a broader spectrum of people could contribute to the prevention of MTCT.