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Although the research published in American Journal of Public Health showed that the HIVRPN law has not deterred HIV testing among people in New York, it might not have much benefit in preventing another case like that of Nushawn Williams who apparently deliberately put women at risk. If this law would deter anyone from seeking a diagnosis, perhaps it would be someone who has reason to be concerned about prosecution, like Williams. He was charged and convicted under already existing laws, and I believe that he should have been, but a new law, while well-intended, could possibly overreach and unnecessarily target groups of people who are already stigmatized for having HIV. If this law really does prevent the spread of HIV, then it has some benefit, but it's impossible to measure how many people didn't get HIV because of it.

Furthermore, the article revealed that only a small percentage of people in New York were even aware of the law, which means they could have been charged with a crime without fully understanding their legal obligations. Of course it is unethical to keep this information from a partner, but whether it is criminal should depend on the situation. In the case of Nushawn Williams, it seems fitting that he was treated as a criminal because of the number of women he knowingly put at risk. Many situations aren't as clear.

Another concern is that there is always the possibility of partner violence no matter how carefully this law is implemented. There needs to be a way to protect the individual whose partner finds out this way about the disease. Even if this is handled properly, knowledge of this law could make some people avoid getting tested who fear for their safety.

As a future healthcare worker, I recognize the importance of preventing the spread of disease, but as a slightly paranoid American citizen who enjoys individual privacy rights, I have to question why HIV is being treated differently than any other communicable disease. This law singles out people with HIV to the exclusion of other STIs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hepatitis kills more people than any other infectious disease, so it seems discriminatory to only collect names of people infected with HIV. This kind of legislation could lead to a further loss of privacy rights concerning health information when they are weighed against public safety. If I had HIV, I would feel like my rights were violated with this information being disclosed against my will. It is absolutely unethical to keep the knowledge of HIV from a partner, but whether it should be illegal is another matter.

I think education and awareness are the keys to helping people to protect themselves. I think it will be my job as a nurse to protect patients' privacy while empowering them to take responsibility for their health, while treating each patient equally and without judgment. We need to figure out how to prevent the kind of circumstances that lead people to engage in risky behaviors such as unprotected sex and illegal drug use, while recognizing that people who have HIV should be treated the same as anyone with any other disease.

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awareness for younger generations. Children who are directly impacted will be more attentive and possibly more responsive since they are personally affected by witnessing the diseases' effects. It would also be important to test the children because they could possibly be infected with HIV. This response brought to you by Gidgette Rogers


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Jailene Rodriguez HIV reporting Laws

Jailene Seda
6d
Jailene Rodriguez HIV reporting Laws
As a nurse I feel as though the HIV reporting law is a great thing. If your HIV test is positive, the clinic or other testing site will report the results to your state health department. They do this so that public health officials can monitor what’s happening with the HIV epidemic in your city and state. It’s important for them to know this, because Federal and state funding for HIV services is often targeted to areas where the epidemic is strongest. Not only this but when the number of amount of people who are infected is released to the public, the people of that county will take more caution regarding who they proceed to have intercourse with. Which in turn will reduce (or at least stop the increase in) the amount of people who have or contract HIV. In 2016 Georgia was the number 1 state with the most people who have HIV with a total of 31.8 thousand people who have been reported. 
Some concerns with this law are, what about the people that don’t go to the doctor? How are the numbers accurate? Also, there is a concern with the law stating that they are obligated to tell their partner. Although I personally agree with this law, it could increase incidence of domestic violence in cases where one partner tells the other. In cases like this are states going to increase domestic violence clinics? Another concern is the law that was passed in New York in 2000 where people who are reported to the state must be named. To some people this may be an invasion of confidentiality. If I or someone in my family contacted HIV I would be ok with it being reported but I would feel a little nervous about my name being used because I fell as though yes, I should be counted but my name shouldn’t be used because if I am not sexually involved with a person or if the person will not come in contact with my blood then why is it their concern?  
Yes, I do believe that not telling your partner should be a criminal law. Mainly because its morally wrong and I believe it should be up to the partner if they still want to have sex with the other or not. As well as the fact that there are medications and other methods of safety that the partner can take so if they do decide to proceed in intercourse they can be safe about it. The argument is that if the infected person does say something they fear that their partner will not want to stay in the relationship or will not want to ever proceed I intercourse with the other. BUT if the infected person loves the other that shouldn’t matter. For those that are aware they are infected and are just going around having one-night stands and not caring about anybody else since no feelings are involved deserve to be charged as rapist, the other person is not aware they have the disease and most likely would not have proceeded in intercourse if they did. 
Jailene Rodriguez
3 comments

Anonymous 5d
Jailene those numbers from Atlanta are really scary and i would like to know how many of those people are in stable relationships and taking the proper precautions when it comes to intercourse. Its really scary to think about but necessary in today's society. I understand why people wouldn't want their names to be reported but it could be important in times of crisis where people could be accidentally exposed or potentially harmed in accidents or etc. That information could useful and save someone's life. I do think that people could use the disease as a weapon and infect people willingly and i agree they should be charged. I think rape is kinda a slap on the wrist but i get it. Its difficult to say what the type of punishment should be or even list all the possible scenarios but there are wives who may find out they're infected after her husband becomes ill with Karposi's Sarcoma or something. It takes such a long time for HIV to become apparent that a single person could potentially kill dozens if not more. This response brought to you by Gidgette Rogers

Ashley Montalvo 4d
Jailene you hit points that I completely overlooked and would of never even thought of. People who never go to the Dr. would of never even crossed my mind and that is horrible because my dad is one of those people. In all my 27 years, I remember him going to the hospital one time after an accident and that was because he was forced to go! Which led me to think about those who do not have insurance, and know or might not know they have HIV. If they are aware, how can they afford medications and follow ups. What happens to all of the people who desperate for drugs and share needles, and are at such high risk? This is a topic that opens so many doors for discussion, and going into the career that we chose it is hard to not want to help everyone. You post was very insightful and really made me think outside the box.

Becca A. McCloskey 1h
Jailene I agree with you on how it should be reported. HIV can be an epidemic and it can be a scary epidemic especially since people don't get the symptoms right away. I agree with what Gigette said that the numbers from Atlanta are scary. HIV can become an epidemic just by those number, especially if every city or state reported HIV cases. I agree with a concern being domestic violence. You made a very good point on how not reporting HIV is morally wrong. I believe there are people out there that don’t care and that should be taken care of criminally. How are we going to stop the number of people getting HIV if we don’t get the people that don’t care off the streets.


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Prevention is always better than cure. but for a disease thats not curable. the all measures of prevention should be high priority. The New York  HIV reporting law is a step in the right direction in over coming the HIV Epidemic Any one would want to be notified and be aware of their partners status.

Notifying Existing partners and Past partners can be effectively done with Offering confidentiality  and assurance for the infected person that they wont be Vilified. And offering Post counseling for all notified members on steps to take if they are indeed infected.  In the case of the notified partner is not infected then this could be an opportunity for Nurses and health care professionals to educate new individuals about preventative measures such as abstinence.

The Law while i am in support of it Can also have a negative impact in decreasing people willing to be tested in fear of getting stigmatized by society.  individuals suspecting they may be infected may withhold from testing and this may have the opposite effect in fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic

Health Care professionals and Nurses like my self can create new innovative ways to normalize the process.  This will be done by guiding and preparing all partners for next steps to take.  We can also continue to educate our selves in how to make this process done professionally. In conclusion everyone would want to be notified if their partner has HIV.

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Enhancing partner notification allows more exposed individuals to learn their HIV status and receive early diagnosis and treatment if infected. The partner notification process also increases the opportunities for patient education regarding HIV risk reduction education to prevent future transmission.The regulations indicate that all newly diagnosed cases of HIV infection and any known contacts reported by physicians merit priority consideration for partner notification.

The results from the HIV-positive and HIV service provider groups suggest that ongoing contact between health care providers and HIV-positive clients on issues relating to partner notification is necessary. This may allow the client a chance to absorb the meaning of their new diagnosis before managing the issue of notifying all current and past partners. The importance of notifying past partners should be emphasized in post-test counseling and follow-up sessions as clients indicated a tendency to focus primarily on the notification of current partners. The needs of providers should be monitored on an ongoing basis in order to develop and maintain effective training and support programs. Specific efforts should be made to provide additional training on how to handle cases involving intimate partner violence risk. Finally, continued efforts need to be made to inform consumers about the HIV report and partner notification  law and in particular, partner notification assistance programs.

One concern with New York State's HIV Reporting Partner Notification law was that it would cause individuals to avoid HIV testing. This component of the grant assessed, through the application of an interrupted time series design, the impact of New York State’s HIV report partner notification law on the HIV testing trends of publicly funded counseling and testing sites.

Pennsylvania Nurse peer Assistance program staff made suggestions for improving the partner notification system in New York, including more extensive front-line staff involvement in future changes to the system, better coordination between partner notification staff throughout the state, more extensive promotion of Pennsylvania Nurse peer Assistance program, and the provision of additional training opportunities to Pennsylvania Nurse peer Assistance program staff.

In addition, the law requires that health care providers report known contacts of newly infected individuals and attempt to elicit other sex and needle sharing partners to increase the number of partners being notified of their exposure risk. Intimate partner violence screening must be conducted for each partner identified. Given the expanded role of physicians in HIV reporting and partner notification, it was deemed important to assess their knowledge, attitudes and practices surrounding the new law.

An alternate approach would be to encourage them to work more directly with and actively refer to Health Department partner notification programs which maintain staffs of disease intervention specialists who have received in-depth standardized training on partner elicitation and notification skills.

In conclusion there is good evidence that partner notification is a means of newly detecting infections. Also, there is fair evidence that provider referral generally ensures that more partners are notified and medically evaluated than does self referral. More research is needed to improve elicitation and notification procedures and tailor them to specific populations, to assess the effect of new testing technologies on partner notification, and to understand the consequences of partner notification for infected persons and their partners.

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I believe that HIV should be reported because if I would get HIV or my family member would get it, I would want to know, so it would stop there, and I can do everything in my power to not give it to anyone else, and how to get the medication for it so the HIV doesn’t go to full blown AIDs. As a nurse I am not going to look at the patient any different, and I will always use standard precaution. But I can keep it in the back of my head that I need to be extra careful when dealing with bodily fluids, so I wouldn’t make my own mistake and contract HIV.

One big concern I have with passing this law would be violence. If a patient comes in and finds out they have HIV and they have only been with one partner, (don’t have any tattoos and don’t share needles) they are going to know who gave them HIV. The patient could get violent with the person who gave them HIV. Maybe there is a husband and wife that are both tested, and they don’t have it, and one day the husband finds out that he has HIV and he hasn’t slept with anyone and has been very careful with tattoos and doesn’t share needles. He is going to know that his wife gave him HIV and could become violent with her. Another concern I have is confidentially and the community. Yes, everything is supposed to confidential with HIV, but there is gossip and the teenagers and young adults are going to gossip. People should be taught about the importance of confidentiality. No one should be judged for making a mistake. No one should be made fun of.

Yes, I feel that lack of reporting HIV should be a criminal offense. There are people out there that know they have HIV and keep sleeping with other people and sharing needles. There are people out there that just don’t care and will sleep with someone just to get them infected. HIV is a serious illness and should be taken very seriously. I feel like these people that have HIV and don’t care should be fined and should do a community service by helping people that are very sick with AIDS, so they know what is going to happen to them, plus what is going to happen to the people they infected.

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The Report of HIV Within the United States

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The Report of HIV Within the United States

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The Report of HIV Within the United States

"If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself," is a familiar quote by Henry Ford. I believe this sums up the HIV Reporting Bill with a concise, yet effective tone. When accountability is utilized, responsibility tends to occur at a greater rate than when the former is omitted. I genuinely believe that all lives should be deemed as valuable, and as nurses, we are called to make this dream a reality.

As healthcare professionals, we are one of the few groups of mandated reporters within this country. This responsibility was put into place to ensure the safety for the disadvantaged, susceptible and those who are unable to speak up for themselves. One instance includes seeing a child being subjected to harm or having reason to believe that a child has been abused or neglected.

I believe that executing a law that is responsible for ensuring physicians and other medical team members accurately report probable or known HIV cases, can prevent the HIV epidemic from increasing. If myself or someone close to me were to contract this all too familiar, yet awful disease, I would want to be made aware. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPA) should be utilized as well, thus protecting the privacy of all members involved.

In the same way the poisoning or stabbing someone is considered a serious crime, intentionally infecting a person or persons with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus should be taken as seriously. One main way to ensure that this occurs is by attaching accountability and responsibility to this offense.

My main concerns with passing this law includes the lack of “confidentiality,” as well as some individuals refraining from getting tested out of fear of having their information “disclosed.” However, there is power in knowledge. My hope would be that education regarding preventative measures and maintenance/care be an automatic part of the nursing care of these individuals, particularly.

As a nurse, I would make it my goal to aid in educating individuals of all walks of life to practice safe and healthy behaviors that would be beneficial to all persons involved. This includes abstinence and/or safe sexual practices, eliminating sharing needles, being tested multiple times prior to giving blood and informing expectant mothers about the potential consequences of birthing a baby if the mother has this virus.

As a little girl I always remembered my grandmother saying the following phrase, “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.” I would sit and think about what that meant. As I grew older, I gradually learned and intertwined that saying into my own life. I believe that the topic at hand is an example where the phrase would fit in perfectly. Preventing HIV would be ideal. Unfortunately, in many cases, that might not be possible due to it already being contracted. However, preventing the spread is much more attainable. One word at a time, and one person at a time.

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In the past, I knew a woman who had contracted HIV from a man that she knew in high school. He was her “first love” and also a drug user, which is why she ended up leaving him. She didn’t find out that she had HIV until she was happily married to another man and pregnant with her first baby. Because of this, she decided to get an abortion. The once happy girl who thought her life was going great became severely depressed to the point where she attempted to take her own life. After almost a year of counseling and having the support of her family, she finally made it through and could accept that she had it and continue with her life. The man that gave it to her had died from an overdose months before she was notified, by that man's father, to go get tested.
Because of this and other reasons, I completely agree with the HIV reporting and notification law. As a nurse, my patients safety, my safety, and even the safety of those I am not caring for are very important. HIV can have a devastating impact on an individuals and their loved ones lives. If there is a way to prevent HIV or improve the quality of life for those who have it, then there is no question that it needs to be done. Especially with the rise in drug abusers.
My two major concerns with the passing of this law would be that some individuals may be deterred from getting tested out of fear that they may test positive and their name will be known to the public. People need to be educated thoroughly on the fact that their name will be kept from the public and only be reported to the centers for disease control and prevention. My other concern would be for the safety of the individual from themselves, because of depression and possible suicide ideation, and anyone who may find out that they contracted HIV from that individual. If I was tested positive for HIV and somehow found out or even had an idea of who gave it to me, it would be hard for me to just keep calm about it. I would probably hunt them down so I can only imagine what other people could do, especially with social media these days. In addition to this, positive test results may lead to conflicts in relationships, such as divorce and separation, so the individual will have to prepare themselves for much more than a positive test result.
Lack of reporting should be a criminal offense if the individual has been tested, came up positive for HIV, and is aware that they have it but is still choosing to put others at risk, for example by sexual contact, co drug use, etc, without any regard for the other person’s safety. In my personal opinion, even with the treatment options we have today, that is right up there with attempted manslaughter.

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I believe the HIV reporting law passed in 2000, is, overall, a good thing.  Since it can take 10 years for this to turn into full blow AIDS, people can walk around infecting other people for a long time before even knowing that they are doing this.  Then the people that are infected spread it to the other people not even knowing this is happening.  That being said, when these infected people come into the hospital or doctor’s office because of illness, not knowing, and the healthcare provider gets stuck or cut then there’s the potential for the provider to become infected.  Yes, healthcare providers are supposed to use “Universal Precautions,” but many didn’t back in the day.  Most of these providers became healthcare providers because of their passion for helping those in need.  For many of these providers, its not a matter of being lazy when not putting on gloves or protecting themselves, but rather it’s a matter of being in the habit of not wearing gloves because they haven’t done it for much of their careers.  My biggest concern with the passing of this law is that the person who reports having HIV doesn’t remain confidential.  If the confidentiality is broken there could be serious consequences to the reporting person.  There would be prejudices and the person would start being treated much different by everyone.  Also, the people that the infected person reports having been with could try to retaliate somehow.  The lives of families would change drastically.  There would be a transition period.  There might be long-term depression.  Back in that period HIV was associated with homosexuality so if there were children in the family they could face being ridiculed in school about their parent being a “fag.”  Another concern is the expense of the treatment necessary because you were involved with someone that had the disease and reported it.  Also, there may be a delay in testing because of embarrassment.  Even though it isn’t right, a person who has HIV is discriminated against by society.  If the state can keep the information confidential I do believe that not reporting HIV infection to sexual partners should be a criminal offense.  To not notify your partner to a potentially deadly disease is not only morally and ethically wrong, it should have consequences legally also.  A person must be held accountable in my opinion for not disclosing they are positive for HIV/AIDS.  Also, in my opinion, society has an obligation to inform the public of how the disease is spread and dispel many of the myths that are still going on today.  When the HIV/AIDS virus first became evident there was a major HIV/AIDS phobia that spread throughout the country because people were just not informed.  A paranoia spread throughout the country and many people were afraid of even shaking someone’s hand that had the virus/disease.  Although we have come a long way and people today have a greater understanding of the disease there is still a lot of ignorance out there causing fear.

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	As a nurse, it is sometimes difficult to retain objectivity when it comes to social matters. With the passing of New York’s HIV Reporting and Partner Notification Law in 2000, physicians and other health professionals are required to report the name of any person infected with HIV, HIV-related illnesses, AIDS, or who had died of AIDS to their state health commissioner. Many concerns were voiced, claiming the law to be a breach of privacy, and believing high-risk individuals would potentially be discouraged from seeking testing and treatment, or forgo testing altogether.	From a professional standpoint, I am firmly in favor of named system to monitor HIV and AIDS cases to prevent the spread of this disease. However, as a human being, I can understand why some individuals thought the HIV Reporting and Partner Notification Law would cause a decline in HIV testing. Many people do need to be tested, and society needs to do everything we can to make sure everyone has access to the care they need. That being said, due to the nature of the disease, measures must be taken to protect the highest number of people.	What was found, however, through data collection for the American Journal of Public Health, was that there was apparently no decline in HIV testing behavior among people who were at high risk of acquiring HIV. Contrary to what many had thought, the improved monitoring of New York’s HIV epidemic has greatly benefited the fight against the disease, without alienating the people it affects.	My first concern with the passing of this law is obviously the possibility of a decline in testing. Individuals who are at a high risk for contracting HIV need access to resources, and there should be no factors deterring them from doing so. Another concern I have is that, if many people are being deterred from getting themselves tested, the system may have the opposite of the desired effect, which is to increase the monitoring of cases of HIV and AIDS. Instead, if there are more undocumented cases of the disease, it will become more difficult to monitor and control.	As far as the subject of criminality goes, if an individual fails to report their HIV infection to a sexual partner, I believe their guilt lies in their knowledge of their diagnosis. If a person knowingly infects another person with the disease, I think that person should absolutely be charged with a criminal offense. Not only is that person willingly exposing another human being to a terrible illness, but by not telling the individual, the risk of the further spread of the disease comes into play.	I think the most important thing to take away from this article is that it is important to educate people on public health matters. While, in this case, this article determined that the law did not limit the amount of data that was able to be collected, matters such as these could potentially arise if the public is not informed  of the actuality of the circumstances, instead of coming to their own conclusions.		

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	As a nurse, it is sometimes difficult to retain objectivity when it comes to social matters. With the passing of New York’s HIV Reporting and Partner Notification Law in 2000, physicians and other health professionals are required to report the name of any person infected with HIV, HIV-related illnesses, AIDS, or who had died of AIDS to their state health commissioner. Many concerns were voiced, claiming the law to be a breach of privacy, and believing high-risk individuals would potentially be discouraged from seeking testing and treatment, or forgo testing altogether.	From a professional standpoint, I am firmly in favor of named system to monitor HIV and AIDS cases to prevent the spread of this disease. However, as a human being, I can understand why some individuals thought the HIV Reporting and Partner Notification Law would cause a decline in HIV testing. Many people do need to be tested, and society needs to do everything we can to make sure everyone has access to the care they need. That being said, due to the nature of the disease, measures must be taken to protect the highest number of people.	What was found, however, through data collection for the American Journal of Public Health, was that there was apparently no decline in HIV testing behavior among people who were at high risk of acquiring HIV. Contrary to what many had thought, the improved monitoring of New York’s HIV epidemic has greatly benefited the fight against the disease, without alienating the people it affects.	My first concern with the passing of this law is obviously the possibility of a decline in testing. Individuals who are at a high risk for contracting HIV need access to resources, and there should be no factors deterring them from doing so. Another concern I have is that, if many people are being deterred from getting themselves tested, the system may have the opposite of the desired effect, which is to increase the monitoring of cases of HIV and AIDS. Instead, if there are more undocumented cases of the disease, it will become more difficult to monitor and control.	As far as the subject of criminality goes, if an individual fails to report their HIV infection to a sexual partner, I believe their guilt lies in their knowledge of their diagnosis. If a person knowingly infects another person with the disease, I think that person should absolutely be charged with a criminal offense. Not only is that person willingly exposing another human being to a terrible illness, but by not telling the individual, the risk of the further spread of the disease comes into play.	I think the most important thing to take away from this article is that it is important to educate people on public health matters. While, in this case, this article determined that the law did not limit the amount of data that was able to be collected, matters such as these could potentially arise if the public is not informed  of the actuality of the circumstances, instead of coming to their own conclusions.		

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HIV is one of the most commonly known immune deficiency disorder. It’s been a dilemma to myriad of countries worldwide. The law passed in 2000 in New York on HIV Reporting and Partner Notification I feel was a huge win, and reinforcement for us to help control the problem. This law explains that every injected person should voluntarily provide a potential list of people which you had sexual contact or shared needles. The main goal overall is to inform the possible affected person and help get treatment fast before it develops into Aids. Nurses are the foundation for this law to be successful, as recommended in the article nurses should be getting a mandatory training in HIV counseling and assessment, way the virus gets transmitted, the consequences of HIV disease in victims lives. We also need to start teaching today’s youth more on how to prevent such diseases. They aren’t being educated enough in this subject putting more and more unaware people at risk. As a nurse I’m a proponent to this law, no one is above the law. I believe that if you have HIV, you should report it for your own and the sake of others. Reporting it would only benefit you and your partners. I would not want to figure out I had HIV while my partner at that time knew that he had it. Personally, if me or one of my family member were to be infected with HIV I will encourage and educate him /her. Normally a person would feel more protective towards their family, but I still support the law. The problem though would be how embarrassing it would be for the person. They will be exposed and will have to divulge all their previous sexual partners. Still, informing their partners will allow both to seek adequate help and early treatments. Failing to notify others will aid the proliferation and the dissemination of the virus and rapidly increase the number of affected people. The biggest concern about this law is potential domestic violence situation between HIV spouses and healthy ones. People tend to get mad and emotional when they find out they have HIV from a previous or current spouse. This law could also increase the risk of divorce and couple separation. Another concern is that this law will encourage others not to seek HIV testing. Some people don’t have the financial means to carry out the notification and testing process. To carry out this law, you will also need a sizable number of nurses who are ok with providing care to HIV populations. A big turnoff to most people however is having their information out there, not only theirs, their previous partners too. Some are afraid that their information might get hacked because identity theft is common nowadays. I only believe that they should be criminalized only if they refuse to inform their sexual or sharing needles partners about their HIV status, it is not right putting other healthy individuals at risk of an incurable disease. HIV can get fatal and can be transmitted exponentially when the population is not informed. Consequences are more serious when not intervened on time.

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I strongly agree with the HIV reporting law passes in 2000. Before this law, there was no mandatory reporting of HIV disease. Reports were sent to the state once a patient was diagnosed with AIDS if you ask me that's to late. Just imagine all of the people who could have been infected with or without know throughout those years while the disease was unreported.  As a nurse I feel that it is my right to know if my patient is HIV-positive so that I can take the necessary precautions to protect myself because as a nurse yes we are taught to treat everyone as if they are infected and to use standard precautions but sometimes the standard precautions are not enough. I understand the stigma and people not wanting us to treat HIV positive patients any different then other patients because of the because of their feelings. What makes them any different than the patient who has c-diff? So you mean to tell me that I can know someone has c-diff and have gowns, gloves, mask, and goggles for something that I can contract and get rid of but I don't have the same right to know the status of something as serious as HIV that can affect me for the rest of my life? It doesn't make sense to me but that's just my opinion. No one else besides the nurses caring for the patient needs to know but I feel that if they know they should tell us their status. We as nusres are also tought to access the situation that is an important factor in providing safe and effective care. I feel that they should tell their family and partner or partners because if not it's just going to continue to spread like a wildfire.

From a personal standpoint I feel that personally if me or my family member should contract the HIV disease, I still feel that the status should be reported and shared with the family to prevent the spread of this disease to other family members or other sex partners or anyone in general this is not something I would give to my enemy; so why would I want to take a chance of giving it to someone I love. I feel like if you engage in high risk behaviors suck as doing drugs or having unprotected sex rather your straight or not you owe it to youreself and to the others you place at risk to get tested and know and share your status. I think that if you want to remain anonymous that's your prerogative but you should at least let the other people you had sex with or shared a needle with or put at risk and any other way know so that they can get tested and if they're infected treated Before it's too late. This virus replicates fast although it can take up to 10 years to turn into full-blown AIDS this virus is still in their body regenerating wreaking havoc on a daily basis killing them slowly so you can keep your status a secret. I think that unfair especially with all the new meds they have in place now if treated early a patient with HIV can live a long life if put on the right regiment in a timely fashion. Who are you to decide their fate and allow them to just become more and more sick because you don't want your name put on a list.

My two biggest concerns about the passing of this law is people spreading this disease without knowing they have it because someone else who knows they have it didn't share This information with them. Also the lack of Education when it comes to such an important matter I feel that as a nurse we should spend more time reading and learning about diseases so that we can make a change in this world one at a time by teaching our patients our families and our friends the importance of stopping or slowing the progress and the spreading of various diseases out here especially HIV. Yes I believe that lack of reporting HIV infection to sexual partners should be a criminal offense because I feel like you have the right to play with you life but you shouldn't jeopardize someone else's.

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Alma Scali                                                                                                                   I strongly agree on passing this law about reporting partners with HIV. My personal opinion, this is a big responsibility to be aware of what's going on in your environment. Are you safe or not with the people surrounds you, or even the people you care and love? If you really care for the person you are with, you need to be concern enough in everything either its good or bad for that person. If I personally experience this in the first place, I would be very anxious in everything. How did I get it, and how safe I'm gonna be of not passing it to my love ones and people I care about. But If I have it or someone in my family have it, I will personally report it. I want to know more about this and be aware of what I'm gonna do next. I need to know what precautions I need to be concern of,  what things I can and can't do, and how I am gonna deal and go on with my life.  As a nurse, it's our job to advocate for good health and safety of everybody. Reporting somebody with HIV is truly a must! I also agree on this Bill about the nurses providing adequate training in proper care for patients with HIV/AIDS. And being an instrument  in their own communities to spread the word of information about the prevention of this virus.  If I have a patient having this virus, it's my job to report it! I understand that letting somebody knows that you are infected is a big embarrassment for that person.  People's first reaction would be, "She didn't take care of herself well."  But thinking about it, if you didn't know that, that person you are with was infected, it wouldn't be your fault, then you should get some help. It's the awareness of knowing it will save us. Especially for a couple example, who spent their lives together, then suddenly these chaos happened. If you were aware that your partner is infected with this virus, you should be responsible enough to report it, and get some help, and stop there!   And if you have no idea how did you get it, you should probably would want to know how to prevent it. Practice safe sex, don't have more than one sex partner, avoid illegal drugs or sharing needles and syringes with people using drugs, don't share personal items.  These looks like basic stuff to know, but knowing what really HIV is about, we will be more cautious with everything. As a nurse we need to inform and educate our patients about these information and help them with all help we can provide them. We can't be judgmental, but instead, give them a hand to help.                                                                    One biggest concern is the possibility for a Breech of Confidentiality. Exposing your name as one of the infected individual  is an awful one. You are not 100% sure if those people that you entrusted your name with , would be truly  genuine with their job not to expose your name somebody else. Another concern is that, if this will affect somebody that is minor. This gonna be a total change in  their whole life. And what hurts more is that, when a mother passed it to her child. This child will grow up knowing he has it, and her lifestyle will not be as normal as he should be. On the other hand, by knowing it early in life before the child grows, he will have some sort of precautions and being safe by not passing it to other person.                                                                    "Prevention is better than cure!"  Why would you let somebody get it, if you know you can prevent it.  Awareness is important and additional information are very helpful for prevention. Not reporting it is more of a criminal offense, than reporting it!  If you know what's the pros and cons of zipping your mouth, and letting somebody be infected is more of a crime for me. Especially when you got this from job as being  a nurse, you need to report this.  It's everybody's responsibility to be aware and cautious about our surroundings and the people around us, and how they're gonna affect our life. 

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Alma Scali                                                                                                                   I strongly agree on passing this law about reporting partners with HIV. My personal opinion, this is a big responsibility to be aware of what's going on in your environment. Are you safe or not with the people surrounds you, or even the people you care and love? If you really care for the person you are with, you need to be concern enough in everything either its good or bad for that person. If I personally experience this in the first place, I would be very anxious in everything. How did I get it, and how safe I'm gonna be of not passing it to my love ones and people I care about. But If I have it or someone in my family have it, I will personally report it. I want to know more about this and be aware of what I'm gonna do next. I need to know what precautions I need to be concern of,  what things I can and can't do, and how I am gonna deal and go on with my life.  As a nurse, it's our job to advocate for good health and safety of everybody. Reporting somebody with HIV is truly a must! I also agree on this Bill about the nurses providing adequate training in proper care for patients with HIV/AIDS. And being an instrument  in their own communities to spread the word of information about the prevention of this virus.  If I have a patient having this virus, it's my job to report it! I understand that letting somebody knows that you are infected is a big embarrassment for that person.  People's first reaction would be, "She didn't take care of herself well."  But thinking about it, if you didn't know that, that person you are with was infected, it wouldn't be your fault, then you should get some help. It's the awareness of knowing it will save us. Especially for a couple example, who spent their lives together, then suddenly these chaos happened. If you were aware that your partner is infected with this virus, you should be responsible enough to report it, and get some help, and stop there!   And if you have no idea how did you get it, you should probably would want to know how to prevent it. Practice safe sex, don't have more than one sex partner, avoid illegal drugs or sharing needles and syringes with people using drugs, don't share personal items.  These looks like basic stuff to know, but knowing what really HIV is about, we will be more cautious with everything. As a nurse we need to inform and educate our patients about these information and help them with all help we can provide them. We can't be judgmental, but instead, give them a hand to help.                                                                    One biggest concern is the possibility for a Breech of Confidentiality. Exposing your name as one of the infected individual  is an awful one. You are not 100% sure if those people that you entrusted your name with , would be truly  genuine with their job not to expose your name somebody else. Another concern is that, if this will affect somebody that is minor. This gonna be a total change in  their whole life. And what hurts more is that, when a mother passed it to her child. This child will grow up knowing he has it, and her lifestyle will not be as normal as he should be. On the other hand, by knowing it early in life before the child grows, he will have some sort of precautions and being safe by not passing it to other person.                                                                    "Prevention is better than cure!"  Why would you let somebody get it, if you know you can prevent it.  Awareness is important and additional information are very helpful for prevention. Not reporting it is more of a criminal offense, than reporting it!  If you know what's the pros and cons of zipping your mouth, and letting somebody be infected is more of a crime for me. Especially when you got this from job as being  a nurse, you need to report this.  It's everybody's responsibility to be aware and cautious about our surroundings and the people around us, and how they're gonna affect our life. 

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HIV paper  I agree with the law, especially on educating the infected individual on the disease because as student nurses we have been taught that patient education is important. The mode of transmission, actions to limit further transmission, additional treatment(s), medical care, and counseling can help an individual understand and cope with the disease more effectively. I believe individuals who are educated with HIV, may be able to more effectively handle the necessary lifestyle changes required to live with this diagnosis.     I definitely agree & support the idea of specialized training for nurses and other healthcare members caring for individuals with HIV.   In the event of an emergency I believe it is important to know about certain diseases such as HIV. As nurses we should always wear gloves and take certain precautions. However, in an emergency situation an individual may want to help and forget about safety precautions, which is why I feel it is important to know if an individual is infected or potentially infected.  I can understand the concern an infected individual may have if their name is reported. An individual may have feelings of shame and fear being labeled as HIV positive, but preventing transmission to others is a priority.  One of my biggest concerns with this law are the stipulations of the anonymous HIV testing because if a test is positive than how will the individual be made aware, let alone educated. And I do not agree with how the current law says the results of an anonymous test are excluded unless the individual changes his or her mind. If an anonymous donor is HIV positive & unaware than the disease can be spread to other individuals.   Another concern is the professional mannerisms of the healthcare professionals who provide medical care, take blood, perform tests, and counsel the infected individuals. Professionalism needs to be upheld and the healthcare team must maintain a responsibility to help the individuals, not shame them.   I agree there shouldn't be criminal or civil penalties if an individual withholds names of contacts, however they need to be reinformed of the importance of preventing the transmission of hiv and educating the patient.  If I had a partner with HIV I would like to know they are infected. I believe there should be a form of punishment especially if the individual knows they're infected, but I think criminal charges would be suitable for a second or repeated incidents.   

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HIV paper  I agree with the law, especially on educating the infected individual on the disease because as student nurses we have been taught that patient education is important. The mode of transmission, actions to limit further transmission, additional treatment(s), medical care, and counseling can help an individual understand and cope with the disease more effectively. I believe individuals who are educated with HIV, may be able to more effectively handle the necessary lifestyle changes required to live with this diagnosis.     I definitely agree & support the idea of specialized training for nurses and other healthcare members caring for individuals with HIV.   In the event of an emergency I believe it is important to know about certain diseases such as HIV. As nurses we should always wear gloves and take certain precautions. However, in an emergency situation an individual may want to help and forget about safety precautions, which is why I feel it is important to know if an individual is infected or potentially infected.  I can understand the concern an infected individual may have if their name is reported. An individual may have feelings of shame and fear being labeled as HIV positive, but preventing transmission to others is a priority.  One of my biggest concerns with this law are the stipulations of the anonymous HIV testing because if a test is positive than how will the individual be made aware, let alone educated. And I do not agree with how the current law says the results of an anonymous test are excluded unless the individual changes his or her mind. If an anonymous donor is HIV positive & unaware than the disease can be spread to other individuals.   Another concern is the professional mannerisms of the healthcare professionals who provide medical care, take blood, perform tests, and counsel the infected individuals. Professionalism needs to be upheld and the healthcare team must maintain a responsibility to help the individuals, not shame them.   I agree there shouldn't be criminal or civil penalties if an individual withholds names of contacts, however they need to be reinformed of the importance of preventing the transmission of hiv and educating the patient.  If I had a partner with HIV I would like to know they are infected. I believe there should be a form of punishment especially if the individual knows they're infected, but I think criminal charges would be suitable for a second or repeated incidents.   

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I strongly agree on passing this law about reporting partners with HIV. My personal opinion, this is a big responsibility to be aware of what's going on in your environment. Are you safe or not with the people surrounds you, or even the people you care and love? If you really care for the person you are with, you need to be concern enough in everything either its good or bad for that person. If I personally experience this in the first place, I would be very anxious in everything. How did I get it, and how safe I'm gonna be of not passing it to my love ones and people I care about. But If I have it or someone in my family have it, I will personally report it. I want to know more about this and be aware of what I'm gonna do next. I need to know what precautions I need to be concern of,  what things I can and can't do, and how I am gonna deal and go on with my life.  As a nurse, it's our job to advocate for good health and safety of everybody. Reporting somebody with HIV is truly a must! If I have a patient having this virus, it's my job to report it! I understand that letting somebody knows that you are infected is a big embarrassment for that person. People's first reaction would be, "She didn't take care of herself well."

One biggest concern is the possibility for a Breech of Confidentiality. Exposing your name as one of the infected individual  is an awful one. You are not 100% sure if those people that you entrusted your name with , will be loyal enough not to expose your name somebody else. another concern is that, if this will affect somebody that is minor.

I understand that letting somebody knows that you are infected is a big embarrassment for that person. People's first reaction would be, "She didn't take care of herself well and got it from somebody." But thinking about it, if you didn't know that, that person that you are with was infected, it wouldn't be your fault from getting it. It's the awareness of knowing it will save us. Especially,  for a couple example, who spent their lives together, then suddenly this chaos happened. If you are aware that your partner is infected with this virus, you should be responsible enough to report it, and get more help to stop it there! And if you have no idea how did you get, you should probably would want to know how to prevent it. Practice safe sex, don't have more than one sex partner, avoid illegal drugs or involve with person using drugs, don't share personal items, never share needles or syringes. These looks like basic stuff that we all know, but knowing what really HIV virus is about, we will be more cautious in everything. As a nurse, we need to inform our patients about these information and help them with all supports we can provide them. We can't be judgmental, but instead give a hand to help!

"Prevention is better than cure!"  Why would you let somebody get it, if you know you can prevent it.  Awareness is important and additional information are very helpful for prevention. Not reporting it is more of a criminal offense, than reporting it!  If you know what's the pros and cons of zipping your mouth, and letting somebody be infected is more of a crime for me.

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A quick overview about HIV/AIDS before I begin to Discuss my opinion on HIV/AID's reporting, HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It harms your immune system by destroying the white blood cells that fight infection. This puts you at risk for serious infections and certain cancers. AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. It is the final stage of infection with HIV. Not everyone with HIV will develop Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AID's)
HIV is most often spread through unprotected sex with an infected person. It may also spread by sharing drug needles or through contact with the blood of an infected person. (dirty re-used tattoo needles as well) Women can give it to their babies during pregnancy or childbirth. There is no cure, A blood test can tell if you have HIV infection. Your personal care provider can do the test, or you can use a home testing kit to determine if you have HIV/AID's.
Based on the short and simple overview of HIV/AID's, I unwaveringly believe that the HIV reporting bill in absolutely medically significant to establish the safety and prevent further transmission of the disease. By the law being passed, it is easier to accurately monitor how we are improving in providing safety to our patients, our community, and ourselves.
In my opinion HIV/AIDS is not discussed as much as it was when it was a huge epidemic, but even then there was not enough education on the disease process and mostly people were not concerned about it if they were not homosexual. The more we began to further study HIV/AIDS it became prevalent that if our mindsets didn't change death rates would still be rising to this day.
I could not imagine myself acquiring this, i know that i would be devastated, and all the negative affects it would have on my psychological. My main thought process would be my family and how i could protect them from getting it, and if a family member was contracted with the disease i would really be upset, and wonder why there was not more ways to prevent this from happening.
My biggest concerns with passing this law is privacy. based on all the biased believes of having the disease, this could put the patient, family member, or YOURSELF in danger to the ignorant people who may think that they need to take matters into their own hands and "eliminate" the problem. employers may be able to discriminate and decide not to give you the position, promote you to a better position, or just terminate you all together. Another way to look at it as well is if you decide you don't want to give your name, they do not put you in the reports, which puts the public more at risk. There should be a better process of reporting
I think that lack of reporting HIV infection to sexual partners should become a sexual offense IF the infected person knowingly is having unprotected sex with sexual partners and is not taking measures to protect themselves and the pubic/ sexual partners. There are cases where people do this on purposed, or just really do not care about the outcome or how it affects our society, and i do believe that, that kind of ignorance needs to have serious consequences considering that it is similar to committing a murder. The criminal offense charge should be evaluated based on case to case situations.

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I believe that HIVRPN bill is medically necessary to ensure the safety and further spread of HIV/AIDS. As a nurse, there is a duty to keep patients safe, healthy, and out of harm's way. This law provides that opportunity. If I had a patient on my caseload that was newly diagnosed with HIV, I would have no problem reporting them to the appropriate party. I would have peace of mind knowing that the health commissioner would then do their part to contact the patient and attempt to receive the names of their sexual partners, so that they too can be tested and receive treatment, if applicable. There are many advances in medications and treatments for HIV to slow the progression of the disease, so that they can continue to live a life they desire versus having no knowledge of being infected and shortening their lifespan.

It is definitely harder to picture what it would be like if I personally was diagnosed or had a close friend or family member was diagnosed. I would imagine the guilt, shame, hurt, and sadness would be hard to cope with. Personally, I would feel awful that I potentially could have infected someone else. But I would also feel anger towards whoever gave me the virus in the first place. I'm sure that the anger would hang out for quite some time. I would refer a friend or family member to counseling, because it is a hard thing to take in. Hopefully it would help them with coping and coming to terms with the magnitude of the situation.

To comment on whether the patient should have to provide the names of their sexual partners, I believe that would be quite challenging. Millennials and college-aged young adults within today's society are having more sex and many partners. Sometimes these encounters occur under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and they often are one night stands. Therefore, they might not even be able to give a name, or they may be only able to give you a first name. Still, I believe if they are able to remember and provide names, they should be mandated to do so. Because of this, I believe that refusing to report sexual partners should be a criminal offense. They are putting those people's lives in danger and shortening their lifespan simply because they do not want to give up a name(s). It's a different story if they simply do not remember names. However, blatantly saying no and refusing is putting other's lives in danger. There would have to be reassurance that their name would not be given when contacting the sexual partners, which I believe would be one of the main reasons someone would not want to give names.

The HIVRPN bill raises some concerns for me, which were also listed in the articles. I feel there is a definite lack of knowledge surrounding the bill and what it entails. However, one would not know about the law until they or someone they are close with is diagnosed. HIV is still one of those viruses that has a lot of stigmas attached to it. Homosexual men will always be the first people one thinks about when they hear it.

The second concern is that those that are aware of the law, are hesitant and delay testing for fear that everyone will know. They need reassurance that their name is only released to the CDC is crucial. They also need to be told that it's not required that you share the names of your sexual partners, but it is highly recommended. Also, if they do release names, that their own name will not be told to the partners, just that they were exposed and should seek testing.

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Requiring physicians and other practitioners to report HIV cases is an understandable and necessary law.  The people who were exposed to the infected person have a right to know that they have been exposed to such a serious disease.  The sooner they can be tested and possibly start treatment the better chance they have at a long and relatively normal life.  If myself or a family member were to contract HIV it would certainly be scary, you would personally be named along with an illness that comes with a serious stigma.  I would be scared that the people who were contacted about exposure would figure out that it was me or my family member that had it and be treated poorly because of it. As a nurse I still think it's a good thing and I believe most people are aware of the reporting laws now, so it doesn't really pose much of a risk of a patient not seeking treatment because of it.  Standard precautions should always be used to there is also no reason to fear an HIV patient. The only concerns that would have come to mind for me were already mentioned in the article.  I would wonder about people avoiding testing because of being personally named, but the researched showed that that proved to not be an issue. My only other concern is if the patients are being properly educated about what happens after it is reported.  Do they know exactly what their information will be used for? I would just be concerned about them being made to feel like a criminal.  In many states it is a criminal offense to not tell a sexual partner that you are HIV positive (HIV disclosure laws). 25 states require an HIV infected person to disclose to their sexual partner that they are HIV positive before engaging in intercourse with said person. 14 states require them to disclose their HIV status to a person with whom they are sharing a needle. Many other states still require them to report their positive status even in lower risk transmission situations and behaviors.  Spreading HIV is a serious issue.  When a person knows they are infected and still chooses to engage in behaviors that will spread it there should it be a consequence.  Many states categorize this behavior as assault and battery, reckless endangerment, and attempted murder. I personally do not view an HIV or AIDS infected person as a criminal or a bad person in any way, but when they continue to engage in risky behavior they are being malicious, and I agree with it being a criminal offense.  I wonder how they prove that a person had prior knowledge of their illness though.  The HIV reporting and partner notification law states that their name will not be disclosed, so I wonder if that changes to prove in court that they knew they had HIV when they engaged in behavior that transmitted it to someone.  I read an article a few years ago about a case where a man transmitted it to someone through intercourse but claimed he didn't know he was infected beforehand.  The article talked a lot about how they were going to be able to prove whether he actually knew or not, while still maintaining HIPPA. 

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Requiring physicians and other practitioners to report HIV cases is an understandable and necessary law.  The people who were exposed to the infected person have a right to know that they have been exposed to such a serious disease.  The sooner they can be tested and possibly start treatment the better chance they have at a long and relatively normal life.  If myself or a family member were to contract HIV it would certainly be scary, you would personally be named along with an illness that comes with a serious stigma.  I would be scared that the people who were contacted about exposure would figure out that it was me or my family member that had it and be treated poorly because of it. As a nurse I still think it's a good thing and I believe most people are aware of the reporting laws now, so it doesn't really pose much of a risk of a patient not seeking treatment because of it.  Standard precautions should always be used to there is also no reason to fear an HIV patient. The only concerns that would have come to mind for me were already mentioned in the article.  I would wonder about people avoiding testing because of being personally named, but the researched showed that that proved to not be an issue. My only other concern is if the patients are being properly educated about what happens after it is reported.  Do they know exactly what their information will be used for? I would just be concerned about them being made to feel like a criminal.  In many states it is a criminal offense to not tell a sexual partner that you are HIV positive (HIV disclosure laws). 25 states require an HIV infected person to disclose to their sexual partner that they are HIV positive before engaging in intercourse with said person. 14 states require them to disclose their HIV status to a person with whom they are sharing a needle. Many other states still require them to report their positive status even in lower risk transmission situations and behaviors.  Spreading HIV is a serious issue.  When a person knows they are infected and still chooses to engage in behaviors that will spread it there should it be a consequence.  Many states categorize this behavior as assault and battery, reckless endangerment, and attempted murder. I personally do not view an HIV or AIDS infected person as a criminal or a bad person in any way, but when they continue to engage in risky behavior they are being malicious, and I agree with it being a criminal offense.  I wonder how they prove that a person had prior knowledge of their illness though.  The HIV reporting and partner notification law states that their name will not be disclosed, so I wonder if that changes to prove in court that they knew they had HIV when they engaged in behavior that transmitted it to someone.  I read an article a few years ago about a case where a man transmitted it to someone through intercourse but claimed he didn't know he was infected beforehand.  The article talked a lot about how they were going to be able to prove whether he actually knew or not, while still maintaining HIPPA. 

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I thought these articles were both very interesting to read. In my opinion HIV is still thought of as a taboo subject and many people still don’t talk about it enough. However HIV continues to be a huge problem in the US as well as in other countries, especially those that are underdeveloped.

When it comes to reporting HIV I think everyone who has contracted the disease should be held accountable for reporting it to all past, current, or previous sexual partners who could be affected. In the article it discusses New York's law that was passed on June 1, 2000. This law mandates that all individuals must be named and reported. I think this is a great step in preventing the spread of HIV. I also think it is extremely useful that doctors offices will assist patients diagnosed with HIV in contacting their past sexual partners anonymously.

If someone I knew had contracted HIV I would want to know that they were doing everything in their power to decrease the spread of the disease as well as stay safe and get adequate treatment/therapies. This includes being educated on how the disease is spread. I think education is key to keeping our communities protected.

With all of that being said, I do have some concerns with reporting individuals by name. I think if there were to be some sort of breech it could be devastating to a person if many people found out about their diagnosis without the proper education. For example, if the patients are reported by name there is always the chance that someone will “find out” about their diagnosis. Since HIV isn’t commonly talked about it could be very challenging for a person to have to explain their diagnosis if someone already has a preconceived idea of it based on a breech in protected healthcare information.

Another big concern about the law is that it may drive patients away from seeking medical treatment for their HIV in fear that someone will find out, or because they are scared that there may be embarrassment attached to the process of being reported by name. With any other illness we as healthcare professionals have to promise that we will never speak of any protected healthcare information outside of work or to any other healthcare professional who is not caring for that patient. The same HIPAA law absolutely applies for reporting HIV by name. However, patients may still delay their treatment and care simply because they are aware of the change in the law and know their name must be reported.

I think lack of reporting HIV to a sexual partner should definitely be a criminal offense. In my opinion, if someone has sex without reporting themselves to their partner then they are making an environment where consent to sexual activity is almost impossible. I don't think an individual can truly give consent if they don’t know if their partner has been tested for HIV or not.

HIV should be talked about more openly in order to make people feel more comfortable in getting tested. The sooner people get tested the sooner they can begin therapy and that can make all the difference in their quality of life. It is our job as nurses to be able to encourage and educate the general public on the risks and process of reporting.

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HIV is simply defined as the body attacking its own immune system. This can be transmitted through a break in the skin, wounds, mucous membranes, infected blood, and contaminated body fluids. As a nurse I feel that we should be open to taking caring for all indiviuals the same. I feel as though in my perspective the law would protect all nurses but this should not limit the type of care that we can give. It does not matter if they what their race, ethnicity, or religious belief may be. The nurse should be well educated and informed on how to be open minded and not discriminate. This is something that some of us can have a hard time with becuase we are so quick to judge while not taking into account of how you may feel in that persons position. If my family member or myself would contract the disease I would want to be treated the same just aa the person who is in the bed next to me is being treated.

One concern that I have with the law as the article has stated is the lack of the mecial personal that is trained in treating. Also the funds that are required to test and control this disease. There is also a possible risk of breach in the confidentiality of the person and the state. Along with the breach of confidentiality some may feel as they are being discrimintated because of the lack of knowlegde the may have had before contracting this disease and the risk of feeling uneasy. The second concern that I have with these patients is the lack of knowlegde of the disease process. Not only will they have human immunodeficiency virus but will the have acquried immunodefiency syndrome secondary to the HIV. Nurses could gather as a community to help inform the importance of HIV prevention as wel as education. These are some associations that they could reach out to: parent- teacher associations, girl scouts, boy scouts, schools, religious innstitutions, community orginizations, social clubs, sororities, and fraternities.

In my opinion the lack or reporting human immunodeficiency virus to sexual partners should be a criminal offense because you have a putting other people's lives in danger. Not only will the sexual partner have human immunodeficiency virus but it will turn into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The amount of people who have HIV/AIDS have significantly decreased over the past few years. The article brought the point of this being a breach of confidentiality but I do not feel that it is because you are affecting someone else and their life. This disease can also be prevented in various ways. Some of these ways include the following: getting tested, using condoms (this is not a guaranteed way of protection), having less risky sex, and getting treated if you do contract a sexually transmitted disease. I soley believe this is abusing the knowledge of your own diagnosis and abusing someone else. In conclusion, both of these articles have opened my eyes about the causes and effects that HIV will have on another person.

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The monitoring of HIV and its progression I feel has come along way. The article talked about how prior to the 90's the government only kept track of cases when people would develop AIDS. This caused there to be little to no research or knowledge about the development, spread and treatment of HIV. Accompanying the progress of the study of HIV New York placed a law mandating reporting of cases and altering possible other infected persons called the HIV Reporting and Partner Notification Law.
Why is this law only active in New York state? The Law is just, but only passing it in New York will not completely help the spread and/or the notifying of potentially harmed individuals. If the infected person is only visiting New York temporarily or travels a lot this law will not effect them. Mandating the anonymous notifying of potentially harmed people that they were infected with HIV I feel can be very dangerous. If the healthy individual only had one sexual partner or is married to that infected individual then they automatically know who gave them the disease. This would consequently breach confidentiality. The article talked about the high risk for domestic violence and how the Law can get proper authorities involved in anticipation for violence, however I do still feel that there is a great risk for physical abuse between the original infected person and the one newly diagnosised. As a nurse, there are many hazards to this field: being hit by a psych patient, being stabbed in the ER by an intoxicated patient, and potentially being exposed to infected bodily fluids. These risks are what nurses signed up for when they received their licenses. Nurses need to give equal and fair care to all persons, disregarding race, religion, gender and current or past medical conditions.
I personally have already taken care or a patient who had HIV. This woman contracted it from her husband who was a WWII veteran and survived a bombing. Only he and two other soldiers from his unit survived and they got matching tattoos to remember the event. That is how he unknowingly contracted HIV and sadly gave it to his wife. There is unfortunately a negative stigma that is attached to patients who have HIV; they have hundreds of unprotected multiple sexual partners, they're an IV drug user, the list goes on. But as a nurse we should not judge any disease because like my story of the woman and her husband their past was innocent. If I had a friend of family member with HIV I would also treat them the same as anyone else. A disease does not define you, and how you contracted it is none of my business. I would still hold their diagnosis in confidence until someone else would be at risk or for other legal reasons.
Lack of reporting of persons who have contracted HIV I feel should be a criminal offense. This deficit in notifying the CDC as well as possible infected others will only spread the disease further. This disease once caught is a death sentence from that exact moment. The inability for a medical professional to report is essentially killing other individuals, individuals that may have otherwise avoided HIV.

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I somewhat agree with the law passed in 2000 for HIV reporting. Being a nurse it’s my responsibility to try to keep everyone safe and out of harms way. I do believe that if you are infected with HIV you should report it not just for your own health but for the sake of others. As far as being criminally charged I really don’t think that’s the way to do it. For the fact of the matter that there is people who kill, steal, hurt others and there not prosecuted some even get away. I feel as though if we pass laws we need to embrace it all around not just one. Maybe we need to as a whole and a community advocate for HIV. Talk to society about transmissions, safe practices. We need to go into our schools, prisons, community centers and get the word out about HIV. That’s why I love my role in nursing. I can advocate and patient teach about HIV to get the awareness out. Personally if me or my family was to contract HIV I would not be judgemental nor would I put them down. Actually I would offer help, family support anything I can do to let them know that this disease will nlt steal their joy. Yes it could be embarrassing yes you might feel frightened or very overwhelmed but we can work through it. I will advocate so much even go to doctor appointments and counseling jst to reassure them that I still love them and myself as well. Now my concern with the law being passed is that these people are not going to want to get tested. How can you expect that? The thought of being publicy exposed or even the embarrassment. There are so many things that these people may be thinking when it’s time to get tested. Also what help are we giving these people when they do test positive? Is there a community program or even family counseling? What if the infected person is homeless or don’t have financial needs to stay safe and protect their body. We need to evaluate every single thing before we try to reinforce anything. That’s why as a nurse I will try my best to evaluate a person as a whole not just the disease.
AMBER WOODARD

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I am a proponent of the New York State HIV Reporting and Partner Notification Law that became effective on June 1st, 2000 for one main reason:  The HIV virus often will show no signs or symptoms to warn partners, or other individuals who are at high risk of contracting this virus by their activities with this individual.   I relate HIV/AIDS to having similarities to a person that has a loaded gun hidden somewhere on their bodies.  If I were to engage in some form of activity with this person I would want to know that they had a loaded gun hidden that might go off.  In my opinion, that person might not tell me that there is a loaded gun hidden on his person because he is embarrassed it is there or he feels that there is little chance that the gun might go off.  Regardless, we all know that accidents happen and the gun “can” go off.   In my opinion, HIV/AIDS has much of the same potential of injury as a gun would have.  It can potentially cause acute illness, a lifetime of expensive treatment, and potentially death.  Due to the seriousness of passing this virus, disclosure and notification needs to be implemented just as we need to register and report our guns.   Regarding reporting for the reasons of safety to health care providers, reporting should not be an issue and should not be a factor in mandatory reporting except in one condition.  As health care providers, for most of the clients we treat, we are responsible for observing “Universal Precautions” which basically states that we need to protect ourselves from blood and fluid from all people whether they are little Old Lady Ms. Johnson who is 104, a newborn baby, a drug user, or any other person.  In our daily routines, no matter what the situation, we should not be exposing ourselves to the HIV virus.  However, there are situations that might occur that we have been exposed to infected blood/body fluids due to the inability to prepare ourselves.  This might be due to a sudden situation that we could not prepare for as a trauma, or unanticipated transmission that we could not prepare for.  Although the incidence of transmission of HIV to health care providers is extremely rare, it can happen, and if we already know who has the disease by mandatory reporting we have the potential to get expedited treatment which has been shown to be paramount in the treatment of the disease.   On a more personal note, although “Universal Precautions” should be engraved in the newer LPN and health care professional it is harder for individuals like me to automatically incorporate the barriers to protect me from HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases.  I grew up in a generation where we didn’t worry about blood transmission from individuals.  In many situations, Emergency Medical personnel both inside and outside the hospital would be covered with blood from major traumas and not be concerned.  Although we would still be at fault for transmission due to our “bad habits”, we need to be reminded of the importance continued protection.

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Miranda Troyer

HIV Reporting Laws

In 1997 discussions on Human Immunodeficiency Virus and the reporting laws escalated due to a famous case regarding a gentleman by the name of NuShawn Williams. He knowingly transmitted HIV to unsuspecting women through sexual intercourse. He was the first person to be labelled a major public health risk in the United States.

HIV and AIDS is a very serious public health risk and I believe that someone who has contracted this disease should be held accountable to disclose that information to anyone that has been put at risk of contracting it. While putting this into effect as a law will/has met with some controversy, I truly believe that this is something that I, as a woman, would like to know. While i feel that it is definitely a moral obligation to divulge this information, I know that not everyone lives by the same “moral code”.

As a nurse, I also see this as an important topic to disclose. HIV transmission has a potential to be astronomical in numbers if there are irresponsible patients. With intravenous drug use on the rise in the United States, it could be detrimental to the community.

Some concerns I have with the law passing is how it will effect HIPAA in regards to privacy, security breaches within the database, and staffing, with specific regard to funding.

This information will all be stored electronically and include not only the patients personal, private  health information, but also the names and contact information on the people that came into contact with the infected patient. We live in a world of daily data breach attempts. People suffer from identity theft at an alarming rate, and I would have concern that someone could “hack” into the database and use the information learned in a malicious way.

This can also be a very costly endeavor. The amount of staff that would be needed to provide care, monitor patients, run testing on potential new patients, staff needed to train assisted personnel, training on precaution measures, would sky rocket costs.To be able to successfully run a program like this there would have to a funding campaign or assistance from the federal government. As more people are tested, it can potentially raise the rates of known people infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which would increase the number of people seeking treatment, inevitably raising costs as well.

People infected with HIV should absolutely inform their sexual partners of their diagnoses. I believe that there should be criminal charges inflicted if patients fail to do so. Mortality rates have dropped drastically with HIV/AIDS and people are living longer with treatments that are available. It is no longer the death sentence that it once was. However, we as nurses need to help educate the public on this disease in the hopes that it would make it less of a stigma to be honest and telling people that you have it. If we can eliminate the stigma, people will be more comfortable to divulge, yet if not they should face charges.

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I think that the law passed in 2000 is huge win in the war on HIV/AIDS. With the number of people being diagnosed with HIV rapidly growing, there needs to be a way to control that growth and spread. If people know that their positive status will be reported to the appropriate agency they may be deterred from carelessly spreading the virus. HIV can be deadly, but if more people accept their positive status and seek treatment early, the progression to full blow AIDS can be slowed down.

As a nurse it is a reality that every day you interact with people in a patient care setting, there is potential you are coming into contact with vectors that can be just as bad as HIV. Standard precautions are put in place to minimize the risk of nurses being infected, but nurses and all healthcare providers must be proactive and constantly wash hands and protect themselves from needle sticks. I do think it would be helpful to know a person’s positive HIV status, but since we are technically supposed to follow steps to prevent exposure to blood borne pathogens, it wouldn’t change the type of amount of care I provide to my patients.

If a family member came to me and said they were HIV positive, I would first offer emotional support and make sure they were not at risk for causing self-harm. I would also help them go through the stages of grief as they cope with this difficult diagnosis. Next I would make sure they have gotten the appropriate medical treatment and psychological care if needed. Lastly I would make sure they have a plan to make sure their sexual partners had been notified of the exposure they had to the virus.

A concern that I have about this law being passed is that people may wait longer to seek out treatment because they are afraid they will be embarrassed or exposed to the community. Having any type of medical condition can be a sensitive topic for a person, and if you add the worry that a large number of people will know this, it may deter people from seeking testing and getting treated.

Another concern I have is will there be additional mental health assistance for these people. When people are placed in this database will the state make sure to notify people that psychological help is there if they need it. It could be in the form of hotlines, anonymous chat rooms or a group therapy setting.

I think that someone fails to report their status and knowingly exposes others to the virus, it should be a criminal offense. Reckless endangerment among many other things could be one of the charges. People who choose to expose others carelessly to the virus will aid in spreading the epidemic. If someone failed to get timely testing and spread the disease without knowing their positive status, I don’t think they should be charged, but that is why it’s so important for this virus to be reported and tracked to prevent incidences such as that.

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I completely agree with the law passed in 2000 for HIV reporting as a nurse. As a someone that is in charge of the health of a community I would want to do as much as I possibly can to prevent the spread of a communicable disease. I believe that if who is identified with the infection should one hundred percent be criminally charged for no reporting to their family and or sexual partners. Not reporting could, in the end, lead to infection and death of someone who was unknowingly is exposed to the HIV virus. It also gives those possibly exposed to the virus a faster time frame to go and get themselves test for the virus and if need be to get on treatment right away to give them an increased time frame to slow down the spread of the virus throughout their system. As a nurse I would approach the topic nonjudgmentally and give my patient that has been diagnosed with HIV as much information I can regarding why they should inform family and sexual partners of their diagnosis. I would also give them resources available of possible support groups in the area of others who have gone through the same this and can give them guidance and some helpful tips that they can use when approaching those who need to be informed with the information. A concern I do have about the law is as to why it has taken this long (till 2000) for this to be passed. Before 2000 (in the late seventy and eighties) it was known of what HIV is and how it is spread and the effects, so why did it take so long to have something like this law to be passed? Looking at it from the view of a family member or infected person I can understand the fear and embarrassment the can be felt in approaching this topic. As the patient coming forward to their loved ones and previous sexual partners can be extremely embarrassing and can lead to the possibly of domestic violence toward the infected person. Another concern I have is about how well these laws are being enforced and why these laws are not federally placed laws set in every state. Yes, New York has the highest current rate of HIV, but that doesn’t mean that it is not present in every other one of the forty-nine states in America. I think this is a topic that should come from a higher up or federal level due to the severity of the virus, and that is so easily spread, the lack of knowledge to a normal person, and the lack of willingness to inform those who need informed. I personally believe one hundred percent that no willing to comply with mandatory reporting should be a criminal offence. Not reporting can cost a person their life due to not knowing they should be tested and seeking out the treatment they need. I think that making it a criminal offence can decrease the incidence of spread of the virus, due to people not wanting to be charged they will report to those who need to be informed which I feel would in turn would cause a decrease in those having the virus.

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I completely agree with the law passed in 2000 for HIV reporting as a nurse. As a someone that is in charge of the health of a community I would want to do as much as I possibly can to prevent the spread of a communicable disease. I believe that if who is identified with the infection should one hundred percent be criminally charged for no reporting to their family and or sexual partners. Not reporting could, in the end, lead to infection and death of someone who was unknowingly is exposed to the HIV virus. It also gives those possibly exposed to the virus a faster time frame to go and get themselves test for the virus and if need be to get on treatment right away to give them an increased time frame to slow down the spread of the virus throughout their system. As a nurse I would approach the topic nonjudgmentally and give my patient that has been diagnosed with HIV as much information I can regarding why they should inform family and sexual partners of their diagnosis. I would also give them resources available of possible support groups in the area of others who have gone through the same this and can give them guidance and some helpful tips that they can use when approaching those who need to be informed with the information. A concern I do have about the law is as to why it has taken this long (till 2000) for this to be passed. Before 2000 (in the late seventy and eighties) it was known of what HIV is and how it is spread and the effects, so why did it take so long to have something like this law to be passed? Looking at it from the view of a family member or infected person I can understand the fear and embarrassment the can be felt in approaching this topic. As the patient coming forward to their loved ones and previous sexual partners can be extremely embarrassing and can lead to the possibly of domestic violence toward the infected person. Another concern I have is about how well these laws are being enforced and why these laws are not federally placed laws set in every state. Yes, New York has the highest current rate of HIV, but that doesn’t mean that it is not present in every other one of the forty-nine states in America. I think this is a topic that should come from a higher up or federal level due to the severity of the virus, and that is so easily spread, the lack of knowledge to a normal person, and the lack of willingness to inform those who need informed. I personally believe one hundred percent that no willing to comply with mandatory reporting should be a criminal offence. Not reporting can cost a person their life due to not knowing they should be tested and seeking out the treatment they need. I think that making it a criminal offence can decrease the incidence of spread of the virus, due to people not wanting to be charged they will report to those who need to be informed which I feel would in turn would cause a decrease in those having the virus.

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There has been an AIDS/HIV problem in not only the US, but multiple other countries in the world for the last several years. The youth are at a greater risk now due to the fact that there is not enough education to those that need it most. By educating people about the prevention, the law of reporting, and partner notification are crucial for an attempt to control this disease. I firmly support the HIV/AIDS law of reporting and partner notification. I believe that hiding that information from partners, or the state, should be considered some type of offense against that individual. The risk they are putting other people at by their carelessness, they should be reprimanded. This disease is easily spread, so there is no way to truly protect against it unless you are abstaining from sexual encounters. There should be more education provided for not only youth, but any one that is in an at risk environment. By providing education, it would decrease the amount of cases, but for those cases that still occur, there should be a mandated law ensuring that people that are exposed needs to report they carry the disease. The law of notification to the partner, and the reporting to the state, could help early detection and prevent the amount of people exposed to the virus. Providing more easily accessed medication and testing for the virus could help prevent complications and the death of the illness.

If I were a nurse caring for a patient, I would definitely want to know that the patient carries the virus, regardless of when they contracted it, or whether they’ve been treated or not. I feel very firm on this position, since my life, and my families lives could be at risk since there is potential for them to contract the virus to me if I am unaware. By being aware, I am more readily able to protect myself and take an extra step in precautions to ensure my safety. The same goes if I had a family member with the virus. I think that they should have to report it, no matter the extent, and regardless of if they are ashamed or not. The risk of not reporting it is way more detrimental than hiding it.

My concerns with this law would be that people may not abide by it. I would hope that people have the decency to abide by the law, but in order for that to happen I believe that there should be consequences for those that do not follow that law. I believe that testing for AIDS/HIV should be easily accessed, and it should be the doctor’s responsibility to report the positive test results immediately and not allow for a middle man to leave out information, or potentially not even report the information. My other concern is that even if people follow the law, there still needs to be some type of education involved to ensure people know the risks and the dangers on contracting the disease.

I do believe that there should be some type of criminal or federal offense for those that do not follow these regulations. The risk that they impose on the public is heinous and needs to be addressed. There should be an immediate way to inform the state of the results, and to give them the name of the patient that tested positive. They should have to provide information on previous and current sexual partners for them to get tested as well. This would hopefully decrease the amount of cases, and individuals with AIDS/HIV.

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The HIV reporting law that was implemented in New York in 2000 has improved the epidemic overall.  I feel sightly indifferent about the requirement.  I think personally that if I was required to report my HIV/AIDS status I was be less likely to get tested and be reported.  I would feel great embarrassment if my family and friends would find out and also to be required to tell my sexual history.  However the importance of knowing as soon as possible is better than not knowing and with the advances in medication administration the possibility of living a longer life before HIV is progressed to AIDS.  However on the opposing side working in the medical field as a nurse I would want to know if the patient I am working with was positive so I could take safety precautions for myself and the patient.  I feel that I am very contradicted in my thoughts regarding the law.

My two biggest concerns regarding the passing of the law is that as I stated from my personal experience is that the law will deter the public to get tested knowing that they will be placed in a database stating their medical history.  I have never lived through a serious epidemic such as HIV/AIDS.  If this law had been implemented in prior epidemics like the Spanish Flu, knowing that technology was not as advanced, would the results has been the same?  Would as many people have lost theirs lives?  Or would knowing more people were infected helped the spread of the disease?  These questions will not be answered but we can only hope that this law will help rectified the problem and save lives.  My other concern is that should everyone be required to get tested or just people in high risk categories?  If everyone should be tested then it should be added as a part of a physical exam when patients are seen at their providers office.  And if not then it should be available at a clinical location where you have access regardless of your medical insurance status.

Should people be charged with a criminal offense if they do not inform their partners of the HIV/AIDS status?  I feel if they maliciously are having multiple partners without notifying them I feel that they should be charged.  However if they do not know their status then I feel how can they be held accountable?  Which brings us back full circle to mandatory reporting.  This is a very controversial subject and I feel that we are worlds away from coming to a overall consensus but the implementation of this law is a step in the right direction. Healthcare safety is the primary concern for patients and medical professional  alike.  We all have a human right to protect ourselves and the ones we are around.  If someone is infected with the common cold we take precautions so shouldn't we also do the same for a disease that can take your life especially if there is treatment that can prolong your life and make other aware of the possibility of infection.

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HIV Reporting and Partner Notification Law

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HIV Reporting and Partner Notification Law

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HIV/AIDS infection is a persistent problem in US and other countries in the world for last decades. Although progress has been made in preventing and treating HIV, there is still much to do. Sexual minority youth are at risk for HIV and most likely to be unaware of their infection. And some people may hide fact and infect the other people with evil intention. Both educating people about prevention measures of the disease and the law of reporting and partner notification are vital for controlling this disease. I strongly support HIV law of reporting and partner notification, no doubt, and  the lack of reporting HIV infection to sexual partners should be a criminal offense. Even if a protective means is used at the time sexual contact, disease can be transfer so if  my partner doesn’t let  me know about being infected is not acceptable because its life threatening disease. Everyone should know ahead of time. The law of notification to the  partner and  reporting can helps in early detection of disease and prevent many  people  exposed to the virus. Educating and encouraging them to be tested and followed by immediate drug treatment may prevent the complication and deaths.

One of the concerns of the law is criminalizing for non-disclosure may scared and discourage people not to get tested . HIV infections occur more from people who do not know their status and are not on treatment plan. People who are spreading the virus knowingly  are  avoiding jail time and when that happens, the rates of HIV rise. Similarly there is another concern that HIV infected patient in the contact notification of a spouse or other  person who has been exposed to HIV may have to face  violence. This can be prevented by strong law enforcement, and consulting them through organizations who works to protect them from potentially violent situations. As a nurse I would take proper assessment to find such domestic violence if there is any.

Since nurses are directly involved in caring the HIV/AIDS patient from day one, there is hundred percent chances of getting infected if precaution are not taken. As  we know these disease is  not only transfer form  sexual contact but also  by exposure to the infected blood, so as a nurse I will  be  carefully apply all standard and special precaution while handling them. Also to protect themselves from patients, all health care workers must use precautions with all patient , to prevent the spread of blood borne pathogens, such as HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the use of examination, procedure or surgical gloves as a barrier to such diseases, as well as other sterilization procedures. Health care workers should know their HIV status as well as the status of their patients. But you must keep your patients’ HIV status confidential. Health care workers who know that they are HIV infected and who perform certain invasive procedures must take steps to avoid transmission to patients. If I had the infection , I would cooperate to be tested and being reported and undergo the treatment. To make a meaning living rest of the remaining life I would rather work on organization who help educating people and encouraging people to get tested if they are suspicious , because HIV used to be considered a “death sentence” long time back but today with proper treatment, HIV is a chronic, manageable disease and those with HIV can expect to live a full, healthy life. This post is brought to you by Parsu Luitel

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By: Tapreka Buchanan....My stance on the HIV reporting law passed in 2000 is I believe that passing the law was the appropriate decision to make. As a nation, as a member to society I believe that it is very important to have a law that requires mandating reporting of an individual infected with the disease. Furthermore, I also agree with keeping the patient’s name who is infected confidential but also making it aware to the individual that had sexual contact with an individual infected that they were exposed tic HIV. My opinion on being a nurse and caring for individuals with HIV would first be to not be judgemental. As a nurse you can not be judgmental about individuals your caring for background. Being in this field you have to treat people the same. I will give the same care to someone infected with the disease as I would to someone not infected. Showing compassion, as I would to someone not infected. In my personal life outside of the medical field, I know of a few individuals with HIV and witnessed people treat them like they were no longer humans. For example, stating harsh remarks or would not even sit next to them afraid that they would contract the disease and that is very heartbreaking. I believe that if they actually did a thorough research on the disease they would look at them as a whole alittle  different and also not fear sitting next to an infected person. If I were to end up with contracting the disease I would feel it’s only right that’s I’d report it and also make my partner and those around me aware that I am infected. I don’t believe it would be a easy thing to face but I also wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t report it to the appropriate individuals. If a family member were to contract the disease I would try my best to be there for them and give my support also to help them in any possible way that I can. People with HIV tend to become very depressed and sometimes even suicidial. My first biggest concern with passing this law is why did it take until 2000 for this law to be passed? The HIV epidemic hit the streets in the late 80s also along with the crack cocaine epidemic. So with the sharing of needles and unprotected sex HIV spreaded rapidly. I feel like passing the law in 2000 was a late start. My second concern is that I believe that back then working in the medical field such as hospitals setting for an example was at a great risk of contracting the disease through the patient’s due to not taking proper precautions. Back in that era nurses and cnas did not believe in using protective equipment such as gloves so I can only imagine what those nurses were coming in contact with due to lack of education on HIV. I strongly agree that lack of reporting HIV infection to sexual partners should be a criminal offense. The reason I believe that is because as we all know there is no cure for the disease. The infected person ruined that individual’s life. Now that person will have to adjust to a new lifestyle, be on medicine for the rest of his or her life and also deal with people on how they’ve may view them and/or judge them. With those factors that could lead to depression and suicidal thoughts as well. By:Tapreka Buchanan

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The thought of HIV/AIDS is scary to most people. The thought of potentially becoming contaminated to the disease is even more scary. Many people go about their lives on a daily basis not taking the precautions to prevent themselves from this disease. Unprotected sex and needle drug users are ways this disease is spread. As a nurse we should always use standard precautions, treating every person as if they are infection with a blood borne pathogen. As a nurse I feel as if we see a patients medical chart that is listed HIV positive we will focus a little more on preventing a needle stick. The new law makes it easier for nurses to know if they are at risk if a needle stick occurs and precautions can be made before we receive the extensive blood work back. I believe it is beneficial on nurses’ lives to know when we are taking care of an infected person. Reporting HIV before it becomes AIDS is a great way to slow the disease process and will have a better outcome for our patients due to early detection. The law passed in 2000 was the first step in trying to control the spread of the disease.

I have a family member who is HIV positive. I still believe it is rightful to have everyone reported. I didn’t know he was positive for HIV until about a year ago. I did notice he takes precautions of spreading disease. He told me that he goes to a support group. Due to being tested, he early detected the disease and it did not progress to AIDS yet. It has been over 10 years since he was diagnosed with HIV.

One of my two biggest concerns regarding mandating would be that the patients start to worry to be tested because if they are positive, then people would know. I believe in a way that it is breaking a breach of confidentially, but at the same time we are doing the right thing. My second concern would be the reporting person not reporting who they had sexual contact or shared needles with during drug use. If we know that one person has HIV/AIDS, how will it help us, help others who may be affected? I think we should make it mandatory for a reported person to tell who they may have exposed.

With that being said, I feel as if not telling your sexual partner or people you share needles with, that you are positive for HIV/AIDS, you should be committed of a criminal offense. In my opinion, it is like putting a death sentence on an innocent person. Yes, there are ways to prevent yourself from getting this disease. But, It is withholding very very important information and “purposely” infecting someone with a disease that slowly kills you. I’m sure if someone were to tell somebody that they are HIV positive,  the other person would either not engage in the behavior or use precautions to NOT expose themselves to the disease.

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The HIVPRN law went into effect on June 1, 2000, which required the reporting of HIV infections and HIV-related illness by all healthcare providers. I believe that it is extremely important that this law was passed. Otherwise, the epidemic that occurred in the 1980s would have taken place again. This law will prevent this from taking place. From a nurse’s standpoint, the most important priority is proper safety. This means that the use of personal protective equipment is vital during certain procedures. The use of gloves when coming in contact with any blood. Saliva has only a small amount of the virus in it and not enough for someone to contract the disease from it. This does not mean that gown, goggles, mask, and gloves should not be worn for the necessary procedures. Supporting and respecting the patient is also vital when caring for someone with this disease. Do not be judgmental and talk openly and honestly with them. Doing this will greatly reduce the patient’s stress and anxiety. Education about balanced nutritional needs and treatment options are included in the patient’s treatment plan. To be honest, I never thought of myself or any of my family members having HIV. However, if we did I would make sure that the proper treatment and protection would be implemented. It should be a criminal offense if someone knows that they have this viral disease and does not verbally make the person aware that they are having sexual relations with aware. Not informing the partner about this could put them at serious health risk and change their life entirely. Some one could use this virus as a weapon in some way. They could use it to get back at another person or to commit a crime of some kind. For example, there was a recent news story about infected needles found at a gas pump so that when a person would pump their gas, the needle would prick their finger therefore transmitting the virus.

By: Tanya Cagnetti

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HIV Reporting & Partner Notification Law

Olivia White

In 1983 the Human Immunodeficiency Virus was discovered to be present in the United States. HIV which causes AIDS interferes with the body’s ability to fight infections. The virus attaches to the CD4 cells, infects the cells, then uses them as a place to multiply. When the cells become infected they are no longer able to do their job in the body for the immune system. HIV is transmitted through contact with infected vaginal fluids, semen, and blood.  Although this virus is asymptomatic until it progresses to AIDS, flu like symptoms may present within a few weeks of becoming infected. It is for this very reason infected individuals go years without knowing they have acquired the virus.  Screening is of greatest importance because there is no cure. Anti-retroviral therapy is used as treatment to slow the disease process, prevent secondary infections and additional complications in hopes to prolong life.

On June 1, 2000 the New York State HIV Reporting and Partner Notification Law became effective. This law requires that individuals who test positive are named in reports to the Health Department by physicians and laboratories. It also requires that physicians report known partners of the infected individuals. However, individuals who test positive are not required to name partners due to partner notification. This plan was implemented to protect individuals from intimate partner violence, which is something that concerned me about the passing of this law. I feel that for many clients if their partner did not have a partner outside of their relationship the client is not truly protected.  This alone is a breech in confidentially which is my second biggest concern. Everyone has the right to know their status so that they can be treated, but clients should not be told testing and results are confidential if they truly are not. The law includes that clients would be assured that their name would be held in confidence when their sexual and needle sharing partners are contacted by the Health Department, but from my perspective the client is still at risk for intimate partner violence.  A positive thing about this law is that resources are made available for both the client and his/her partners which includes testing, treatment, counseling, and education of the disease process.

Health care professionals are trained to use a set of infection control practices to prevent transmission of diseases that are acquired by contact with blood, mucous membranes, open skin, and bodily fluids called standard precautions. We also have universal precautions which treats all human blood and bodily fluids as if they were known to be infectious for HIV, HBV and other blood borne pathogens. As a nurse I would strive to provide a standard of care that is non-maleficence. To be successful at doing so, I need to know my clients needs so that I may provide safe and effective care. For individuals whom are immunocompromised it is important that nurses are not only concerned with protecting ourselves but take a holistic approach to medical care. This allows us to consider the clients psychological and psycho-social needs, rather than just the physical symptoms of the disease.

If I were positive I would want to know so that I could be treated and slow the progression of the disease. I imagine knowing would be a psychological detriment but beneficial to my health in the long run. I feel that the lack of reporting HIV infection to a partner should be a criminal offense because you are knowingly allowing this disease to continue to spread and left untreated.  I would hope to have safety measures in place if this were to lead to violence but trust that anyone in their right mind would be more concerned with treatment. I don’t completely agree with everything this law has in place, but I do think that it is the right thing to do. I hope that communities are continued to be educated on diseases so that the people can take preventative measures and get treated if they were to test positive. Treatment could very well be the beginning to a new end.

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HIV REPORTING STANCE

Nichole Fleisch

Everyone has their own opinion about HIV and AIDS and the laws that go along with it. The recent law that was passed in 2000 was a great decision in my opinion. Before receiving this assignment I personally never knew that there was a law about telling your sexual partners about having the disease. My stance as a nurse vs my stance personally if myself or my family contracted the disease I think might very a little bit. It all depends on the situation and who it is effecting.

First I will talk about my professional stance from a new nurses point of view. When I work as a nurse and possibly encounter a patient or resident with the disease, I will be ok with it. As nurses we are supposed to treat everyone with the same respect and have a non judgement approach. As a nurse I will want my patient or resident to be able to trust me professionally. When or if I met someone with this disease I would want them to be honest and willing to share thoughts and feelings because holding something in as important and scary as it is could be damaging to your self-esteem and their thinking process. I would be make sure as a nurse that I make my trust and confidentiality a priority with the patient known. I would make them feel comfortable and reassured that as nurses we will not judge and or make fun of or treat them differently. Another thought I have is that as nurses we know what standard precautions are and thinking about this disease, it is when I think the standard precautions are of utmost appreciated. It is extremely necessary to follow the standard of precautions for every patient no matter what. Trust no one is my attitude towards this. This attitude as a nurse will most likely for sure keep me safe when on the job.

Second, my stance personally on HIV and having to report it to the state and to their sexual partners may differ. If someone from my family or myself would contract the disease of course I would become very livid. Going through life thinking you are fine and the next you contract HIV and were not told, I do not know how I would react. I guess the people that may have it and gave it to my family member or myself may have not known. Since the law was passed, that is great but now it has me thinking. My two biggest concerns about having the law passed are that less people have gone to the clinic and or doctors to get tested because they are just more afraid and would not like having to tell their sexual partners about what they have. Another concern is that people will not take treatment seriously.  It sure would be embarrassing to have to do something like that. Also, my family, friends and myself should be educated and know to use condoms with anyone you sleep with, kind of like the standard precautions. But if I was in a committed relationship with someone and they knew they have HIV and didn't tell me I personally would want them charged with a criminal offense yes. You are supposed to trust your significant other and have no secrets. Some may chose to stay because they are so in love, but others would feel that the person infected with the disease had trapped them. I would feel trapped.

Lastly, the lack of reporting HIV sexual partners should be a criminal offence, IF they knew about it. I guess in some or possibly in many cases people do not know they are infected. That is actually very scary to me thinking about that. Since they claim it is not as deadly as it once was because of treatment and such medicines people feel the need to not tell.  I think they should get charged with something especially if they knew.

THE END. BY: NICHOLE FLEISCH

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HIV ReportingOlivja ThiloClass 148The subject of reporting HIV infections is a bit of a gray area to most. In theory, this law seems practical and just, however the law needs to be well defined and thought out. Being in the nursing field, it seems like a perfectly logical thing to have HIV positive persons list anyone they could have potentially infected with a life-threating disease. This to me means early detection and education. The person who was infected can learn about the disease and how it is spread. Education will hopefully prevent further individuals from getting infected. Early detection also equals early treatment. The sooner one is evaluated by a doctor and put on anti-retro viral drugs, the better quality and length of life they will have. On a personal level, I feel as though mandated reporting is beneficial. If I was exposed to this disease I should have the right to know, so I could get the best possible treatment. HIV could go undiagnosed in a person for many years before they get tested. This could mean the disease is spreading unnecessarily to many new persons, all the while unaware. I also think it’s a good thing because it provides the government with statistics that could further improve the way the disease is being handled. A main concern I have with this type of law is that it requires many well-educated medical professionals input as far as the disease itself is concerned. Science based research should back the law, not fear. Education is a great prevention method. I also have concerns with the funding of this type of project. Implementing the education and community resources available to the public is very costly.  Money will also need to be spent training the nurses in how to interact with this type of clientele. This is a very delicate subject and individuals will need to be treated with dignity and respect. A lot of community planning will need to occur. I absolutely think that not telling someone you have HIV should be a criminal offense. If someone knowing is infected with a debilitating and life threatening disease, they should be required to tell anyone they could have potentially infected as well as any future partners they have. It should be the choice of their future partner if they want to partake in risky behaviors with an infected person. They could take the available precautions such as abstinence, latex condoms, or taking prophylactic anti-retro virals. Not reporting in the case of this disease means taking the life and liberty away from another individual. I understand the difficulty of such measures, but standards need to be set. I believe that criminalizing the sexual conduct of those living with HIV is a very tricky subject. Many different opinions can be voiced but it all comes down to one thing in my opinion. Safety of the community is my major concern. By enabling laws of this nature, and properly following them, the goal would be to lower new persons being affected. 

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HIV ReportingOlivja ThiloClass 148The subject of reporting HIV infections is a bit of a gray area to most. In theory, this law seems practical and just, however the law needs to be well defined and thought out. Being in the nursing field, it seems like a perfectly logical thing to have HIV positive persons list anyone they could have potentially infected with a life-threating disease. This to me means early detection and education. The person who was infected can learn about the disease and how it is spread. Education will hopefully prevent further individuals from getting infected. Early detection also equals early treatment. The sooner one is evaluated by a doctor and put on anti-retro viral drugs, the better quality and length of life they will have. On a personal level, I feel as though mandated reporting is beneficial. If I was exposed to this disease I should have the right to know, so I could get the best possible treatment. HIV could go undiagnosed in a person for many years before they get tested. This could mean the disease is spreading unnecessarily to many new persons, all the while unaware. I also think it’s a good thing because it provides the government with statistics that could further improve the way the disease is being handled. A main concern I have with this type of law is that it requires many well-educated medical professionals input as far as the disease itself is concerned. Science based research should back the law, not fear. Education is a great prevention method. I also have concerns with the funding of this type of project. Implementing the education and community resources available to the public is very costly.  Money will also need to be spent training the nurses in how to interact with this type of clientele. This is a very delicate subject and individuals will need to be treated with dignity and respect. A lot of community planning will need to occur. I absolutely think that not telling someone you have HIV should be a criminal offense. If someone knowing is infected with a debilitating and life threatening disease, they should be required to tell anyone they could have potentially infected as well as any future partners they have. It should be the choice of their future partner if they want to partake in risky behaviors with an infected person. They could take the available precautions such as abstinence, latex condoms, or taking prophylactic anti-retro virals. Not reporting in the case of this disease means taking the life and liberty away from another individual. I understand the difficulty of such measures, but standards need to be set. I believe that criminalizing the sexual conduct of those living with HIV is a very tricky subject. Many different opinions can be voiced but it all comes down to one thing in my opinion. Safety of the community is my major concern. By enabling laws of this nature, and properly following them, the goal would be to lower new persons being affected. 

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Personally I feel that HIV reporting is necessary. I’m happy that there is a law that requires people to report, and I feel that lack of reporting HIV infections to sexual partners, SHOULD be a criminal offense. Although everyone should be using protection, it is unrealistic, and I can only imagine, going day to day, not knowing that I could potentially have HIV (or anything for that matter) and the person I may have contracted it from, did not tell me. On the other hand, you can have someone purposely infecting others, and those people have no idea, when knowing you have it and not knowing can mean life or death. Those people are now victims, therefore, supporting my stance on making the lack of reporting, a crime. HIV as frightening or embarrassing as it may seem, needs to be discussed, and not kept a secret. Especially to those it directly effects.

From a nurse’s standpoint, I want to be aware, if I am working with patients who have HIV. Not only for their protection but for mine as well. I want to do a full assessment and these people need specific meds and certain treatments, and tests, and we want to prevent full blown AIDS. Being in the medical field you know to take standard precautions regardless, but I, as a mother, want to make sure that I am extra careful and that whatever I come in contact with, stays at work and not with my family or in my home. Although I know the routes of transmission, you are always at risk for accidental exposure.

HIV is a life changing virus, and people need to be instructed on nutrition, and testing, change of habits, and precautions, as well as transmission. So many people are misinformed or just uneducated about this topic, and that alone, can stop people from reporting. Making it one of my main concerns about passing the law. People may feel like reporting is not going to remain confidential. I feel like people need to be educated younger and maybe including information about this law in school health classes, is a good idea. If you are discussing HIV prevention and the spread of HIV, you should also address the steps that need to be taken for those that are at risk. Another concern would be accountability. With mandatory reporting, it is very easy to play the “blame game”, and we need to encourage people to focus on the bigger picture, which is everyone’s health.

If it were me, or someone I loved, first and foremost, I would want them to have access to as much information and resources as possible. I, myself, would need some time to let it sink in but would make my family aware as well as answer as many questions as I could, to ease some of their concerns and clarify some common misconceptions and HIV stereotypes. I would not want to be judged! Although, when you first hear HIV, it's hard not to be judgemental, but you have to put yourself in their shoes, especially as a nurse, feelings aside, once you walk into that room, the patient receives care like anyone else would. All in all, I agree with the law, and I feel like it is a step in the right direction as long as people are well informed about it.

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I do believe that healthcare workers have the right to have HIV exposed individual's information disclosed to them if they are caring for this individual because of the risk of exposure. I do understand that standard precautions should be taken as if everyone had a diagnosis of HIV, but with this precaution just in case of accidental exposure to get required treatment immediately I feel as if it should be mentioned to healthcare workers. I do understand that with this information there may be healthcare workers that may treat these individual differently, although this shouldn’t happen it is a possibility that it could which is why I understand why it isn't mention often.

The two major concerns for me with this disease is I would like to know if my partner has HIV even though it would be hard on me. At first, I would probably feel like this is turning my world is turning upside down with this news of this life changing disease that was gifted to me with, then later on I would learn to be strong since I don’t have a choice now. I would try to live my life happily as the best that I could with my partner. I will show an appreciation of him for telling me about the disease even though it may be too late. I would encourage him to inform his other sexual partners if he had any, so it can be prevented from increasing the number of people that would be infected. That way knowingly or unknowingly he would prevent other people from getting infected with this disease. The biggest concern for me with passing this law is for those innocent sexual partners who have HIV, it is because that if that person were to get sick with flulike symptoms or other minor problems, he or she would ignore it and stay home without going to see the doctor. Which could lead to being life threatening if it is unknown that they are already exposed to it. Since HIV people are immunocompromised, they are at higher risk of coming in contact with infectious diseases. If the partner is unaware that they are contacted with this disease, they won't be able to take necessary precautions. So, I feel like this partner had the right to know what their sexual partner has and if they are exposed with HIV so they can take extra precautions with their health. On the other hand, an infected person may feel embarrassed, ashamed or scared to tell their partner or probably guilt from gifting them with this incurable disease. So, with this guilt, an infected person will isolate themselves from their loved ones which could lead to depression or suicide. Domestic violence could be the result of not releasing this information in the beginning of the relationship.

I think it should be a criminal offense, in order to see the decrease in numbers of people affected with HIV in the community. Infected people should be obligated to tell their sexual partners of their disease so they can be tested for it and can take extra precautions if they have it. They should be required to tell their new sexual partners that they have HIV and let them decide whether they want to have protected sex or not this way we can have a decrease in the number of HIV infected people in the community, city, state and country.

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These were both informative and educational articles to read. They definitely made me think more about HIV/AIDS and my opinion on it as I am about to become a nurse and potentially work with these people. I firmly believe that as nurses/healthcare workers, we have a right to know if someone is infected. Yes, we are always supposed to use standard precautions but HIV/AIDS can possibly be transmitted in very easy ways (needle sticks) that we could run into on a day to day basis. For OUR safety, we deserve to know. Nurses/healthcare workers have to abide by HIPAA anyways so there would be strict confidentiality with us. I also believe that HIPAA laws should be more strict regarding leaking information on someone who has HIV/AIDS. We as soon to be nurses, need to instill the confidence in our patients that we will not disclose their personal information to anyone other than the physician and other healthcare workers working directly with them. Yes, that would probably take some time for the patients infected to come through, but I believe it can be done to benefit both the nurse/healthcare workers and the patient themselves.
If I had a family member/loved one become diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, I would definitely want the people caring for them to be aware of their diagnosis. I believe that our world's view on HIV/AIDS has changed and progressed tremendously over the past few decades. I would never look down on someone for having the virus, I would just be extra careful while caring for them.
One concern I have with this law in New York is that physicians or providers will think the patient newly diagnosed with HIV/AIDS is having sexual relations with certain people when they really are not. The law requires physicians to report anyone who the infected person is having sexual relations with. I feel as though this will not work out in a positive way for anyone, unless the person agrees for the reporting to be filed. I also think that this new law will deter potential HIV-infected people from getting tested.
I strongly 100% believe that not telling your sexual partners that you have HIV/AIDS should definitely be a criminal offense, regardless if the person gets infected or not. They should not get punished and do not deserve it. It gets very tricky though when you have an already HIV-infected person try to have unprotected sex with someone who is not HIV positive. If they are aware of their own diagnosis, it should be considered abuse. It is totally unfair and unjust. If they are unaware they have HIV and they have unprotected sex with someone else, then they should not be criminally charged.

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understand why people wouldn't want their names to be reported but it could be important in times of crisis where people could be accidentally exposed or potentially harmed in accidents or etc. That information could useful and save someone's life. I do think that people could use the disease as a weapon and infect people willingly and i agree they should be charged. I think rape is kinda a slap on the wrist but i get it. Its difficult to say what the type of punishment should be or even list all the possible scenarios but there are wives who may find out they're infected after her husband becomes ill with Karposi's Sarcoma or something. It takes such a long time for HIV to become apparent that a single person could potentially kill dozens if not more. This response brought to you by Gidgette Rogers


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understand why people wouldn't want their names to be reported but it could be important in times of crisis where people could be accidentally exposed or potentially harmed in accidents or etc. That information could useful and save someone's life. I do think that people could use the disease as a weapon and infect people willingly and i agree they should be charged. I think rape is kinda a slap on the wrist but i get it. Its difficult to say what the type of punishment should be or even list all the possible scenarios but there are wives who may find out they're infected after her husband becomes ill with Karposi's Sarcoma or something. It takes such a long time for HIV to become apparent that a single person could potentially kill dozens if not more. This response brought to you by Gidgette Rogers


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understand why people wouldn't want their names to be reported but it could be important in times of crisis where people could be accidentally exposed or potentially harmed in accidents or etc. That information could useful and save someone's life. I do think that people could use the disease as a weapon and infect people willingly and i agree they should be charged. I think rape is kinda a slap on the wrist but i get it. Its difficult to say what the type of punishment should be or even list all the possible scenarios but there are wives who may find out they're infected after her husband becomes ill with Karposi's Sarcoma or something. It takes such a long time for HIV to become apparent that a single person could potentially kill dozens if not more. This response brought to you by Gidgette Rogers


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I have many thoughts about HIV reporting. As a nurse I feel like it keeps us safe. When caring for a patients I feel that nurses have a right to know anything about the patient that could potentially be harmful or deadly to the nurse.  HIV is obviously life changing for the person with the diagnosis and I cannot imagine the embarrassment they feel knowing they have to have this reported, but it is necessary. Something I always worry about with nurses knowing of the diagnosis is them treating the patient differently, or taking too many precautions to the point of making the patient feel bad about themselves. This is called discrimination and it is not right. Nurses know the way this disease is transmitted but you will still run into people who think they can get this virus from touching someone who has it. This is also how I feel about if I or a family member were to contract this virus. I believe that it is extremely important but I just cannot imagine the humiliation if someone is contacted telling them they have been exposed, and they know exactly who it is so they tell everyone. Not everyone is educated about HIV and they may treat the person like they cannot even touch anyone. 

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I have many thoughts about HIV reporting. As a nurse I feel like it keeps us safe. When caring for a patients I feel that nurses have a right to know anything about the patient that could potentially be harmful or deadly to the nurse.  HIV is obviously life changing for the person with the diagnosis and I cannot imagine the embarrassment they feel knowing they have to have this reported, but it is necessary. Something I always worry about with nurses knowing of the diagnosis is them treating the patient differently, or taking too many precautions to the point of making the patient feel bad about themselves. This is called discrimination and it is not right. Nurses know the way this disease is transmitted but you will still run into people who think they can get this virus from touching someone who has it. This is also how I feel about if I or a family member were to contract this virus. I believe that it is extremely important but I just cannot imagine the humiliation if someone is contacted telling them they have been exposed, and they know exactly who it is so they tell everyone. Not everyone is educated about HIV and they may treat the person like they cannot even touch anyone. 

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One of my biggest concerns about the passing of this law is that if someone knows they are not feeling good and they have multiple sexual partners with a possible exposure to HIV, they may not go to the doctor because they know that if they do then all of their partners that have been exposed will know. This can result in quicker progression of the virus because of the patient not seeking treatment. Someone who has HIV and does not start taking medications to slow the process and also does not start creating lifestyle changes can quickly progress to AIDS and also can have many more secondary infections. So overall my first concern is the patient health. My second biggest concern is that if there are many people that think like the person I was describing in my first concern, then HIV could possibly spread rapidly in an area. If they ignore symptoms for the fear of being reported, and they do not get tested, they do not know they even have this virus and they may keep having unprotected sex and infecting other people. There are also people who might find out they have been exposed, have symptoms of HIV, and be too embarrassed to go tell anyone because they do not anyone to know, which leads to more problems for that patient. It is proven that this is the case as evidenced by the data collected and shown in the article that 140 out of 158 people in the age range 18-24 delayed or avoided HIV testing because of concern for their name to be reported to the government. The article also shows that the amount of people who went to get tested at anonymous HIV testing sites decreased when the reporting law was passed. People are scared of this reporting law and this could be a big issue.
I definitely believe that not reporting any HIV infection should be a criminal offense. People die from the secondary infections of this infection and that is murder. If you are knowingly HIV positive and having unprotected sex with people you can ultimately kill someone. I think that there were too many sad cases about many people getting HIV because of confidentiality before this law was passed, and it is sad. I am thankful we have it now.
BY: AUDRIANA QUEZADA

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My Thoughts On HIV Reporting:For someone to discover that they have been infected with HIV is a devastating, and life-changing realization. It will affect not only them, but those with whom they share a close relationship. Due to the lifelong, even deadly impact that this virus will have when transmitted via sexual contact, or shared needles, I feel that HIV should continue to be a reportable disease to the state health board. As a nurse caring for my patient I want to know if they have HIV, so I can better care for them and take the necessary extra precautions when coming in contact with infected blood. However, we as nurses, or anyone involved in health care should always use standard precautions with every patient that we care for. In regards to me or my family member contacting the disease, I would want to look out for their best interest so they, or myself could take the extra precautions so as not to spread the virus on to any of my loved ones. Although, this may be somewhat difficult for a family member to share due to humiliation, or fear of what they may think of him/her I feel that it is still necessary, but the family should keep this information confidential.My concern with the passing of this law are the increased risk of breached confidentiality. With reporting first to the state health commissioner, then to the local health commissioner, who then sends a public health officer to inform possible exposed persons, there is an increased risk of the infected individuals name not remaining confidential. Due to this extreme care must be taken and the necessary technical privacy safeguards in place.Another concern I have for the infected individual is the possibility of domestic violence taken out on them. When the partner may realize that they have been exposed to HIV and act out of anger that he or she had not been told previously to their sexual relationship. If the possibility of domestic violence exists, measures should be take to protect the individual from harm before sharing this information with his or her’s  partner.With it being mandatory to report HIV cases, the tendency may exist for an individual who suspects that they are infected with HIV to push off treatment of the infection out of shame or from fear of others finding this out about them. Effort should be taken by us as nurses to educate the public that very strict confidentiality measures will be maintained.Should lack of reporting HIV to a sexual partner be a criminal offense? This is a very controversial issue, as freedom of speech and freedom of choice are very important, it is equally as important to protect any other individual from contacting such an infection. To knowingly contaminate an individual with HIV by having unprotected sex or sharing needles is not ethical. I feel that any individual who is infected with HIV should be held responsible to take all of the necessary precautions to protect others from being exposed. If these precautions are consistently taken it may not be necessary that not telling your partner that you have HIV be a criminial offence? But I most definatly feel that telling them would be the ethical thing to do, and that their partner has the right to know. BY: Lorinda Zimmerman

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My Thoughts On HIV Reporting:For someone to discover that they have been infected with HIV is a devastating, and life-changing realization. It will affect not only them, but those with whom they share a close relationship. Due to the lifelong, even deadly impact that this virus will have when transmitted via sexual contact, or shared needles, I feel that HIV should continue to be a reportable disease to the state health board. As a nurse caring for my patient I want to know if they have HIV, so I can better care for them and take the necessary extra precautions when coming in contact with infected blood. However, we as nurses, or anyone involved in health care should always use standard precautions with every patient that we care for. In regards to me or my family member contacting the disease, I would want to look out for their best interest so they, or myself could take the extra precautions so as not to spread the virus on to any of my loved ones. Although, this may be somewhat difficult for a family member to share due to humiliation, or fear of what they may think of him/her I feel that it is still necessary, but the family should keep this information confidential.My concern with the passing of this law are the increased risk of breached confidentiality. With reporting first to the state health commissioner, then to the local health commissioner, who then sends a public health officer to inform possible exposed persons, there is an increased risk of the infected individuals name not remaining confidential. Due to this extreme care must be taken and the necessary technical privacy safeguards in place.Another concern I have for the infected individual is the possibility of domestic violence taken out on them. When the partner may realize that they have been exposed to HIV and act out of anger that he or she had not been told previously to their sexual relationship. If the possibility of domestic violence exists, measures should be take to protect the individual from harm before sharing this information with his or her’s  partner.With it being mandatory to report HIV cases, the tendency may exist for an individual who suspects that they are infected with HIV to push off treatment of the infection out of shame or from fear of others finding this out about them. Effort should be taken by us as nurses to educate the public that very strict confidentiality measures will be maintained.Should lack of reporting HIV to a sexual partner be a criminal offense? This is a very controversial issue, as freedom of speech and freedom of choice are very important, it is equally as important to protect any other individual from contacting such an infection. To knowingly contaminate an individual with HIV by having unprotected sex or sharing needles is not ethical. I feel that any individual who is infected with HIV should be held responsible to take all of the necessary precautions to protect others from being exposed. If these precautions are consistently taken it may not be necessary that not telling your partner that you have HIV be a criminial offence? But I most definatly feel that telling them would be the ethical thing to do, and that their partner has the right to know. BY: Lorinda Zimmerman

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HIV Article response by; Martina Hawkins

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HIV Article response by; Martina Hawkins

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Until i began working in hospice and getting into the nursing field i didn't give much thought to HIV or AIDS except from a safe sex practice and protection lifestyle. So to me just being careful and not sleeping around without protection seemed like enough. When i began to work in hospice as a nursing assistant i realized how serious HIV and AIDS was. Learning about how HIV changes your DNA was fascinating not knowing and being educated about something makes a big difference on how i think about living. As a nurse i think people should be reported so that the number of people infected is known.
I  think the reporting could help track medication and treatment adherence monitoring and could potentially keep people alive longer,  I also think that as a nurse there should be ways to do community programs and protect people who want treatment but fear judgement and being an outcast.
I think the law gives scientists information that could be used in  studies and i think maybe this information could be useful for treatment. As a nurse i think the law should have included the mandatory reporting of sexual partners for possible infections. These people could have their risk of death reduced with early intervention services. From a personal stance i feel like i would want to know if people who are providing services for children like daycare and things are infected so that i can be aware of potential exposure risks for my kids. I would want to make sure these people are not trying to intentionally expose younger people as we have seen with so much contamination of food and beverages recently. I would want my family member to report and seek treatment as early as possible. I would do my best from both a professional and personal stance to assure them and provide support but without reporting there is an increased risk of exposure.
My biggest concerns with this article is first the law is just there. The law controls reporting but there is deviation to it. This is the kind of law that should adopted and in effected throughout the world so that a difference can be made, not just on record as a law. My second concern is that this law should be made public and be mandated to include names so that there is accuracy in record keeping. I think this law should be regulated and followed with the same guidelines state to state perhaps this regulation could enhance funding for additional resources.
Yes, Yes Yes, people who fail to report having HIV to their sexual partners should be criminally charged because people deserve the right to know what they are getting essentially. If a person is avoiding treatment and infecting others they need to be imprisoned or charged because that is unfair to their partners. Easy sex is so publicized that people are not being as concerned about being safe with sex so there is an increased risk for exposure. I do also think that pregnant women who are intentionally exposed should be charged double for both lives. With HIV there seems to be like a lot of effort made to expose others but not to seek treatment. I do think that HIV diagnosis and treatment could lead to more domestic instances of abuse from either not knowing or not wanting others to know. I think people especially pregnant women could be at increased risk especially if they find out about their own positive infection  during pregnancy. Situations like failing to report is why the names of these people should be reported as well so that there can be records in case charges have to be filed.

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Gidgette Rogers
Reading this article about the law passed in 2000 was enlightening i wasn't really aware of how many factors were included in reporting disease. I believe that reporting initial infection with HIV is important and it is necessary to develop treatment and develop efforts in finding a cure. As an aspiring nurse this law is vital to me for many reasons; one of the first that comes to mind is accidental exposure to the infection at work. An accidental needlestick injury or bloodborne pathogen exposure is critical for care and safety. As a nurse i won't be diagnosing individuals but i will be providing education and care and in order to provide the most education and care that is specific to individuals and populations this data is crucial. I do think that individuals should be identified by name for reporting purposes simply because people travel and a lot of new infections in several states could stem from one infected individual. I think it would help to seek out different strains and connections related to the type of HIV and eventually it could help lead to a cure. Or just really great care. Personally, I think that the reporting is good and i do think that reporting using names should be mandated. Identifying the partners of infected people is a way to decrease the number of HIV and AIDS related deaths. I have a family member infected with HIV and it was unknown until he was very sick with an opportunistic infection . People being aware of a person's infection creates alot of stigma and some people still do not understand the disease so it is difficult but now that family is aware we have become a support system. Hopefully it helps my relative feel less ostracized but i am seeing what living is like with HIV. I haven't disclosed this information to my children because it isn't important and i don't want them growing up ignorant or scared to care for fear of the spread of HIV and AIDS. Instead i think teaching safe sex practices and great health hygiene is most important.
My two biggest concerns about this law being passed is that people will not get tested.  This data proves that knowing it will be reported only delays the testing but delaying the testing because of fear of being discovered doesn't stop the progression of HIV. Early testing could save a person from blindly infecting others or producing children with the infection. My other concern about passing this law is that there's no real governance or way to enforce it. HIV itself is expensive to treat with vulnerable populations not able to access proper treatment and care. Even if there is reporting to the CDC for new cases the resources aren't there to reach out into the communities to contact and educate possibly infected person's. When reporting people could be dishonest about the true identities of their partners with no ways of actually finding the potentially infected people.
I think the lack of reporting to a partner should definitely be a criminal offense if that person has already been documented and aware of their status. To willingly infect another person shows a complete lack of respect and disregard for other human beings. I am aware that people do not want to be blacklisted or unloved because of their infection but to really love someone honesty should be the best policy. I think improperly disclosing a status could lead to increase in domestic violence and murders especially in couples where the infected person doesn't reveal the status before initial intercourse. I think partners should get tested together but its so much fear of the unknown results and an increase in causal sexual activity where people have consented sex without names. But yes , to not disclose a status should be a criminal offense and if that person does contract HIV or AIDS the other person should be essentially charged with murder .

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The New York state HIV reporting and partner notification passed on June 1, 2000 stated that it was required to report the name of a person that has been diagnosed with HIV. It also stated that the HIV positive individual was not obligated to name partners for the purpose of notifying them that they may have been exposed.If partners names were shared they would be contacted by a public health officer or physician telling their partners that they’ve been exposed to HIV. The name of the HIV diagnosed person would not be shared with partners.

My outlook on this law from a nurse's perspective of having patients with this disease is that I think having to report HIV early on rather than previous laws that stated having to wait to be diagnosed with AIDS in order to be reported will result in a better outcome for people diagnosed with HIV as well as those people that have contacted this disease, by giving them the option for early treatment ,also being able to determine the population that is most affected and figure out a way for better prevention, also financial funds are made more available to certain places based on these results. I don’t agree with the part of the law that states an HIV positive person doesn’t have to identify partners names that may have been exposed. I believe that everyone should have the right to be notified if they were exposed. I think it should be a mandatory expectation because it can cause do harm to others and prevents them from being able to seek early treatment. This can also put other people at risk since there partners are unaware they may have this disease they may unknowingly expose their current partners.

My outlook on this law from a personal perspective, if a family member, or I, were to contract HIV, is that I would still agree with it being mandated to report HIV diagnosed people. My opinion slightly changed regarding having the right to not disclose partners names, because there is a possibility for a breach in confidentiality. If someone who is HIV positive had only one other sexual partner, then even if their name was not disclosed to them, there's a possibility they can figure out who exposed them to HIV. I also understand that if this were to happen, the person diagnosed with HIV may feel ashamed or scared. They may become a victim of domestic violence due to this. They may be harassed or looked down upon by family members. If this were my family member, I would understand their unwillingness to say their partners' names.

The two major concerns I have with this law are that there would be a lack of medical personal trained to treat people with HIV, or not enough clinics available, or financial resources, causing people to not seek help, and not get the adequate care or teaching that they need. Another concern related to HIV is discrimination, negative attitudes and abuse directed at people living with HIV and AIDs. Discrimination may occur in healthcare settings, preventing people from accessing healthcare services. Others may face poor treatment in educational and work settings and physiological damage. This may prevent people from getting HIV testing and treatment.

As a Nurse I do believe it should be a criminal offense to not disclose exposed partners because of the risk of transmission to others and there partners not being able to receive early treatment.

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As a nurse and a mother I can confidently say that this law is a step in the right direction for not only the safety of the general population, but in preventing another HIV/AIDS epidemic. Healthcare providers are taught to use standard precautions regardless of the patients health status, but if a growing population of people are becoming infected  the exposure rate rises, thus increasing the chance of inadvertently contracting the virus.

If myself or a family member were to contract the disease, my stance would remain unchanged. I would urge my family member to seek out prompt treatment to help slow the viruses’ progression and ask them when they plan on reaching out to their previous sexual partners. Regardless of the stigma associated to HIV I would stress the importance of giving anyone exposed the chance to get tested and treated. When a family member is in healthcare, I believe it is their duty to help other members of their family understand medical lingo, diagnosis's or medications. By teaching the impact that HIV can have no only on the current population, but generations to come it may encourage one to get tested and treated.

When providing patient care to a patient with HIV or AIDS autonomy, beneficence, and nonmaleficence are three basic guiding principles. By demonstrating autonomy, a nurse will respect the patient’s wishes regarding their HIV status regardless how the nurse feels about the situation and continue to provide quality care. A nurse practicing nonmaleficence would maintain a competent knowledge of the skills needed to holistically care for a patient diagnosed with HIV. Changing soiled linens, assisting client in meeting nutritional needs and providing adequate analgesia show the principle of beneficence.

One thing that concerns me regarding this law is that people may avoid testing because they are scared their HIV status would be leaked to the public. A person may feel their positive status would make them ostracized at work or lose personal relationships. Also a lack of knowledge regarding HIV could make infected individuals feel isolated regardless of who knows they are positive.  This combination could deter an individual from getting tested and in turn increase the amount of newly infected individuals.

Another concern I have is that there is not enough emphasis on how the children of people who are diagnosed with HIV will be cared for. Not necessarily medically, but emotionally. The impact a diagnosis like HIV can have on a family is astronomical. These children may have to prepare for the loss of a parent, or need help coping with seeing their parent sick. I believe there should be plans or programs in place that give children a safe haven to vent and just be a kid!

If someone is HIV positive and knowingly exposes someone to the virus without disclosing their positive status, I believe it should be a criminal offense. The infected person is denying the other party the right to make an informed decision. Safe sex practices should always be used when engaging in sexual activity, but I think that intentionally withholding potentially life threatening information is an intentional tort and should be punished as such.

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As a nurse I feel as though the HIV reporting law is a great thing. If your HIV test is positive, the clinic or other testing site will report the results to your state health department. They do this so that public health officials can monitor what’s happening with the HIV epidemic in your city and state. It’s important for them to know this, because Federal and state funding for HIV services is often targeted to areas where the epidemic is strongest. Not only this but when the number of amount of people who are infected is released to the public, the people of that county will take more caution regarding who they proceed to have intercourse with. Which in turn will reduce (or at least stop the increase in) the amount of people who have or contract HIV. In 2016 Georgia was the number 1 state with the most people who have HIV with a total of 31.8 thousand people who have been reported.

Some concerns with this law are, what about the people that don’t go to the doctor? How are the numbers accurate? Also, there is a concern with the law stating that they are obligated to tell their partner. Although I personally agree with this law, it could increase incidence of domestic violence in cases where one partner tells the other. In cases like this are states going to increase domestic violence clinics? Another concern is the law that was passed in New York in 2000 where people who are reported to the state must be named. To some people this may be an invasion of confidentiality. If I or someone in my family contacted HIV I would be ok with it being reported but I would feel a little nervous about my name being used because I fell as though yes, I should be counted but my name shouldn’t be used because if I am not sexually involved with a person or if the person will not come in contact with my blood then why is it their concern?

Yes, I do believe that not telling your partner should be a criminal law. Mainly because its morally wrong and I believe it should be up to the partner if they still want to have sex with the other or not. As well as the fact that there are medications and other methods of safety that the partner can take so if they do decide to proceed in intercourse they can be safe about it. The argument is that if the infected person does say something they fear that their partner will not want to stay in the relationship or will not want to ever proceed I intercourse with the other. BUT if the infected person loves the other that shouldn’t matter. For those that are aware they are infected and are just going around having one-night stands and not caring about anybody else since no feelings are involved deserve to be charged as rapist, the other person is not aware they have the disease and most likely would not have proceeded in intercourse if they did.
Jailene Rodriguez