First observed on December 1, 1988, World AIDS Day focuses on highlighting the treatments and disparities. The day also commemorates those living with and/or affected by HIV/AIDS. The theme for the 2021 World AIDS Day is “Ending the HIV Epidemic: Equitable Access, Everyone’s Voice”.

On this episode of That’s Healthful, Dr. Crystal Walker, a Family Nurse Practitioner and Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing in Memphis discusses the barriers to those seeking effective treatment and other HIV/AIDS-related information. Dr. Walker practices in primary care treating patients living with HIV.

Hear how lack of knowledge, stigma, and discrimination still affect those who live with HIV/AIDS. Education is one of the key components in helping reduce these barriers and provide a greater understanding of HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Walker discusses the differences between PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis) and PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) and the treatment appropriate for exposure cases.

If you would like more information about Dr. Walker, please visit https://uthsc.edu/nursing/faculty-and-staff/walker.php. You can contact and/or follow Dr. Walker on Instagram at drdrpcp.

Follow @nowhealthful on Twitter and thatshealthful on Instagram. Visit https://thatshealthful.com/ for the prior episodes and more information about the podcast.

Below are websites for more information on HIV/AIDS:

https://www.hiv.gov/blog/world-aids-day-2021-ending-hiv-epidemic-equitable-access-everyone-s-voice

https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/history/hiv-and-aids-timeline

https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/statistics.html

https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/prep.html

https://www.pleaseprepme.org/

https://readysetprep.hiv.gov/

Music for this episode is provided by Memphis singer, songwriter, and musician, Devan Yanik. For more of Devan’s music visit https://devanmusic.weebly.com/.