Policy Analysis Paper: "And The Band Played On"

1. And the band played on is an American directed movie directed by Roger Spottiswoode in 1993. The movie was intended to show to the world the emergence of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) which was caused by a virus known as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the role government and politics played when the disease emerged (Spottiswoode, 1993). The disease was stereotyped in the US where many people believed the disease to be a gay disease only. The government too believed the disease to be only for the gay rather than carrying out necessary research on the deadly disease that claimed lives of many innocent people. The government was reluctant and depended on information from doctors who did not have much information from the disease and only watched people die since they could not help. Due to the fact that people believed the disease was only for the gay, people feared gay people without realizing that the disease was affecting everybody even newborns. All people were dying of AIDS even those who were not gay people therefore people did not know the exact cause of the disease. The doctors too did not know the exact cause of the strange disease which was now killing most people in the US (Spottiswoode, 1993). Doctors, scientists and the government chipped in to research more on the disease when it was too late and they discovered that the virus was being spread by blood contact from one person to the next. It was discovered that sharing needles, unprotected sex and birth caused spread of the disease. The media spread the truth about the disease with the government funding groups and organizations in order to educate the public about the deadly disease and preventive measures when it was discovered AIDS was not a gay disease only.
2. One of the actors believed that "Common sense, however, rarely carried much weight in regard to AIDS policy." The government, doctors and the media did not carry out much effort in ensuring thorough research was carried out on the disease. The disease was associated with the gay people and drug abusers which made it difficult for the government to fund research. In addition the media did not much focus on the disease since it was being associated with less important people that is, gays and drug abusers (Spottiswoode, 1993). Common sense could not help in fighting the disease since research needed to be carried out first. Everybody thought the disease only affected the gay people so they were ignorant in imagining the disease would even affect those who were not gay. People believed whatever the media said about the disease and even what doctors said without thinking that it would affect all people regardless of whether they were gay. The government failed to carry out the necessary research on the disease and the media was also ignorant spreading facts about the disease which made people remain ignorant (Spottiswoode, 1993). People could not reason since they did not know what caused the disease and could only rely on the information given to them by the media, doctors and the government. Since the disease was not much emphasized people believed it was not important and only concerned those gay people before they realized that all people were dying of the deadly strange disease. People did not have much to do rather than wait on information from scientists, doctors, media and the government.
3. Gaetan Dugas was among the first patients to suffer from AIDS even before it was discovered. He was a flight attendant and thus interacted with so many people. He was also gay thus spread the virus to the people he had a sexual affair with. He admitted to have had 750 partners meaning that he had spread the deadly disease to many people since it was not known that unprotected sex was one of the causes of the disease (Shilts, 2011). He spread the disease to many gay people in the US since he did not know how the disease was spread. Doctors used his blood sample to carry out research on the deadly disease and identify the possible causes of the disease. His case was widely emphasized people terming him as the first patient to suffer from AIDS though they were wrong since other people were suffering from the disease earlier before him (Shilts, 2011). Dugas would not have been punished legally for spreading the disease to many people since he did not know what caused the disease. No legal actions would have been taken against him since he had involved himself in something that was illegal. Homosexual was and is not illegal in the US thus Dugas would not have been punished by the law for infecting over 700 people with the HIV virus. Ethical considerations which would have taken place include doctors failing to publicize his case since they made his case popular and he became known all over the US. Doctors are not supposed to publicize the health status of individuals and it should remain confidential at all the time.
4. The government would have ensured it provided funds to the people and organizations that created awareness on the deadly disease like it does today. The government would have ensured enough and adequate research is carried out before the disease claimed lives of people and made people know that the disease only affected gay people. The government just like today would hold campaigns to make people aware of the causes of the disease, preventive measures and how to live with the disease in case one is infected. The government was ignorant and associate AIDS with the gay people and drug abusers therefore failed to put much consideration in providing funds that would identify the causes of the disease (Shilts, 2011). Just like today, the government would provide funds for social services to be given to the infected people since AIDS can affect all people regardless of the gender, age and social class. The government needed to come up with an organization that would create much awareness on the disease just like today and encourage people with the disease to come up and encourage other people. The government would use the media in creating awareness to the public since media reaches wide numbers of people. Currently the media creates awareness on the disease telling people how to live health with the disease, causes of the disease and preventive measures. The government would have ensured that AIDS would be taught in schools like it is done today and given the disease the attention it deserved since it was claiming lives of many people even those who had been given a blood transfusion in hospitals. The government would have encouraged people to get tested for the disease in order to ensure even those found with the disease encouraged to lead healthy lives.
5. Social services carried out on the already infected people are important since they ensure that the patients feel loved and appreciated. The movie encouraged social services such as taking care of the patients, visiting patients in hospitals, encouraging patients to have proper diet and encouraging protected sex among the people (Spottiswoode, 1993). Social services are important and ensure patients feel part of the society since they cannot survive without the society. My agency would ensure it helps the infected by providing them with free medical care and drugs that will prolong their lives. In addition it would encourage and advice patients on the types of food they need to consume which will ensure they remain healthy. I would encourage HIV survivors to encourage patients undergoing the same thing and share experiences for the patients to have hope, that HIV is not death since other people who have HIV lead normal lives. I would ensure my agency encourage people to get tested for HIV and provide guidance services to all the people regardless of whether they are infected or not.
6. AIDS currently does not claim lives of many people compared to the past. AIDS is still a major problem globally since research shows that large numbers of people get infected with the disease daily and numbers of people die of the disease daily and annually too. Prevention of the disease is better than cure thus I would urge many people to prevent the disease since it does not even have a cure yet. People living with HIV take medication for them to prolong their lives since scientists have not discovered the cure yet. There are many organizations, people and groups that have come open to educate the public on AIDS, its causes, preventive measures and how to live positively with the disease. People should therefore get tested for them to know their status and live positively ensuring they prevent themselves from AIDS for those who are not infected. People are urged to have protected sex since sexual intercourse has been the major cause of HIV.

Policy statement

Purpose: To provide comprehensive infection control systems for AIDS and AIDS related infections for all people in the society served by our agency

Scope: This policy applies to all members of the public, medical officers and volunteers.

This agency notes that AIDS is a major global healthy concern and therefore there is need to provide solutions to the common problem. The agency is concerned with ensuring all members and the pubic are safe from the disease and ensuring social services are provided to the infected members.

7. Coming up with health centers that would provide social services freely to the infected people since most of the people in the third world countries lack enough finances to cater for the medical bills. The agency would ensure that the public is trained and educated on ways of living positively with the disease since many people are living with the disease in a healthy manner. The agency would ensure people are educated on proper healthy diets and donations given to those poor people who cannot afford healthy meals.

Ensuring people get tested regularly is another strategy to be used in fighting AIDS. Providing guidance and counseling should be carried out freely in the third world countries. The agency would ensure that people are educated on preventive measures and living positively for those who are infected. Coming up with more research on HIV cure would remain a priority in my agency since there is no cure yet for HIV thus my agency would urge people to prevent themselves from the disease.

References

Shilts, R. (2011). And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic. New York: Souvenir Press.

Spottiswoode. R (1993) And The Band Played On. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106273/