Introduction
And the Band Played On , an American film released in 1993, touches on three main concerns; AIDS, politics, and people. From the movie, it is 1979, and Francis arrives In Africa where the Zaire people are battling with the Ebola Crisis. So many people are left dead, and Francis is among those helping in cremating the bodies. The images he sees later come to haunt him when he is involved with the research on AIDS epidemic. When he moves back to America, he notices that there is a rise in the number of deaths especially in the Gay community in cities around the States. Francis makes it his mission to further his research on AIDS. He meets some prominent people, some of who help him while others resent him as he is interfering with their lives. Finally, he comes to realize that the disease is caused by a virus and is transmitted sexually. Unfortunately, the CDC refuses to make these findings public. Meanwhile, the number of deaths continue to increase (Pillsbury, Sanford, & Spottiswoode, 1993).
Question 1
From the movie, the first sociopolitical factor influencing the public health policy and the development of HIV prevention is the selfish nature of the politicians. These politicians seem to care more about their image and social class than the death of people. Further to this, they cut the funding to the health sector and the CDC. Secondly, the disease seems to have been prevalent among the gay community, whom the rest of the community was against (Pillsbury, Sanford & Spottiswoode, 1993). The result of the ignorance is what caused the disease to spread at an alarming rate without control measures in place. Finally, another sociopolitical factor influencing this development is the funding in the health sector. With cuts from the politicians, the doctors were left to research with outdated equipment.
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Question 2
And the Band Played On reveals that in the early years of the AIDS epidemic, the people who were believed to have come into contact with the virus were from the outcast classes of the community, especially the gays. Also, since the population ignored the disease, the only way to find the victims was after death, which happened fast because the disease affected the immunity of the patients. It is only after the main star of the movie is infected that everyone becomes attentive to the threat. Initially, there was no clear way of how the disease was spread until Francis discovered it was a virus. This discovery has helped many people around the world because they can now find ways to prevent themselves from infection ( Cleland, & Ferry, 2013). With the discovery of ARVs, it has become difficult to point out victims of AIDS now more than ever. However, the people know that anybody can be infected, not just a particular group in the community.
Question 3
The film also shows the viewers how doctors did not let the funding problem influence their research on AIDS for the sake of helping those already infected to get medication and also reduce the spread of the epidemic (Stanhope, & Lancaster, 2014). The research involved getting all kinds of data from speculated patients to be infected with AIDS. From the data, they would analyze any common occurrences trending in the infected patients that caused the risk of infection or the spread of the disease. The results were compared with those of doctors from other regions. The next step was to conduct interviews meant for a case-control study. The interviewees were selected on the merit of having an opportunistic infection. Finally, the doctors found out that all cases were linked to a French steward. The conclusion was that AIDS was a sexually transmitted disease.
Question 4
And the Band Played shows that AIDS came to public knowledge in the year 1981. However, the fact is that the disease had been in existence from the 1950s ( Barré-Sinoussi, Ross, & Delfraissy, 2013) . There were cases where a boy died back in 1968 and later, blood tests confirmed that he was infected. However, the majority of the population chose to stay in denial and blame it on the minority groups. This ignorance is what played a major role in the fast spread of the disease. Also, at first the CDC was reluctant to reveal that the disease is a virus spread sexually. This led to a drastic increase in the death poll. Today, HIV/AIDS awareness is encouraged throughout the United States. Young adults are being taught about the dangers of unprotected sex and prevention measures of AIDS. The awareness has led to a decrease in infected victims. Secondly, those infected have medication that helps their body fight the virus for a while, unlike previously when they did not know the cause nor measures of prevention.
Question 5
After watching the movie, it is unbelievable how one single case resulted in thousands of infections around the states and other countries. Worse still, the ignorance of the politicians to the epidemic and the death toll is infuriating. However, special thanks should be given to the CDC doctors who worked hours on end to find out the cause of the infection and how it is spread. There has been much improvement in the public health sector, especially on matters concerning AIDS infection. The disease has been reduced to a manageable level, but doctors should continue working towards finding a cure and enabling people to live beyond the disease. The public needs always to be reminded of the updated information concerning AIDS and the measures to take to prevent the spread and risk of infection (Kwong, & Gabler, 2015). Also, special care and support should be given to those already infected.
References
Barré-Sinoussi, F., Ross, A. L., & Delfraissy, J. F. (2013). Past, present and future: 30 years of HIV research. Nature Reviews Microbiology , 11 (12), 877.
Cleland, J., & Ferry, B. (2013). Sexual behavior and AIDS in the developing world . Taylor & Francis.
Kwong, J., & Gabler, S. (2015). Counseling, screening, and therapy for newly-diagnosed HIV patients. The Nurse Practitioner , 40 (10), 34-43. doi: 10.1097/01.NPR.0000471359.56745.e4
Pillsbury, S., Sanford, M. & Spottiswoode, R. (1993). And the band played on [Motion Picture]. USA: HBO Pictures, Spelling Entertainment.
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2014). Foundations of nursing in the community: Community-oriented practice (4th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier.
