Sexual Health

This chapter defines human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), placing it in the context of other sexually transmitted infections and sexually transmitted diseases. It discusses the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS globally, and presents the biomedical aspects of HIV and AIDS. Demographic variables of age, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and location are also important in understanding the risks for and the manifestations of HIV/AIDS in a population. Since people’s behavior occurs and is expressed through their cultures’ norms, values, and structures, the disparate socioeconomic and political situations that exist within and between societies all influence the risk for HIV. HIV/AIDS increasingly occurs among poor, ethnic and female populations. Modes of transmission and co-factors for HIV risk are part of the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS. As an intervention effort, HIV testing can be either a prevention tool or the basis for an initial diagnosis of HIV infection and AIDS.