Community approach in the implementation of public health policy for HIV patients in Bolívar County

Abstract

The fact that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and/or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are present worldwide and have not yet been completely eradicated, poses a major challenge to national and international governments, creating a situation of great concern. The objective of this study was to analyze public health policy in HIV patients in Bolívar County. For this, it was necessary to describe public policies to reveal the perceptions of HIV patients in Bolívar County, in such a way that the community is incorporated into the institutional perspective. The applied methodology had a qualitative paradigm with inductive and interpretative method. The technique applied was the interview. Two patients with HIV and five administrative staff for the control of the HIV program in Bolívar County were considered as study population. Because it was a small number, the total population was taken as a sample. As a result, many patients suffer discrimination due to misinformation about the disease in relation to their forms of contagion and life expectancy. However, the administrative staff tries to comply with all the most important national and international agreements on human rights that include the principles of equality and non-discrimination as pillars on which human rights are based. Despite this, community participation from the public and non-governmental organizations has evolved towards a gradual integration of community learning into a dynamic learning environment that is still under construction.