Primary+Stakeholders

Who are primary stakeholders (e.g., those who have some opinion/influence regarding the issue)? What are their positions?

__PRIMARY STAKEHOLDERS__ These would include those who have a direct Influence and opinion on the topic of HIV prevention in the UTM community. They would include:
 * University/College students
 * Staff
 * Families of the students
 * The Government

According to the research, "Many population-based efforts to provide youth with sexual health information have resulted in limited improvements to their understanding of sexual health risk. A Canadian national youth survey showed that knowledge about HIV, and other STIs, has actually declined in the last decade" (Flicker, 2010). If this trend continues, stakeholders, university students especially are at greater risk of becoming infected.

The effects of HIV are too great to be overlooked. "Educators and policy makers are keenly aware that sexual health can significantly affect student success," said Dr. Paul Cappon, Director General of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). "(Pelley, 2010) If there has been a decrease in knowledge about STD's and HIV among university students, it could result in more HIV cases that could have been avoided if knowledge was applied in prevention.

Staff at UTM such as residence dons, also stand as stakeholders in the prevention of HIV on campus. They could be charged with creating more awareness throughout campus spreading knowledge to their respective students about the disease. How effective the strategy is in communicating awareness of HIV could be used as a measure of success in their relationship with the students. UTM staff such as the VP of Campus life also stand as stakeholders. Incorporating awareness into events such as UTM's "Sex Pub" will help reach the most important stakeholders---UTM's student body.

The families of students at the UTM campus are also considered important stakeholders in terms of the emotional distress that comes with having an infected love one. Not only will the strain of the disease affect the family, but other issues such as a student's academic performance, social life and all the changes that one and the family have to undergo to accommodate or fight the disease.

The government role lies in the provision of public health care. If the rate of the spread of HIV were to increase because of a lack of knowledge, more public health care funding would go into treating a disease that could have been well avoided in the first place.

According to research done for Canadian youth, sexual health and HIV/aids, "For the first time in Canada, the survey provides data on how young people use and perceive sexual health services and education. The findings indicate that more should be done in these areas."(Pelley,2010)

As a group, we will further discuss how a variety of steps could be taken towards the awareness and prevention of HIV on Campus.

References

Flicker, Sarah. "COMMENTARY ." //Google//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2010. .

Pelley B., and Canadian Aids Society. "TurtleIsland.org " View Topic - The Canadian Youth, Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Study." //Turtle Island Native Network//. Web. 01 Apr. 2010. .