Hispanic Paradox
The relatively high life expectancy and low infant mortality apparently enjoyed on average by Hispanic Americans despite their overall lower social class status. HIV. See human immunodeficiency virus. HIV/AIDS Term that summarizes all stages of disease in humans caused by HIV infection. The disease harms an individual’s health by gradually destroying his or her immune system. HMO See health maintenance organization. holistic treatment Treatment based on the premise that all aspects of an individual’s life and body are interconnected—that, for example, to treat an individual with cancer effectively, health care workers must look at all organs of the body, not only the one that currently has a tumor, as well as at the individual’s psychological and social functioning. home health aides Workers, typically untrained, who provide essentially custodial care within individuals’ homes. homeopathic doctors Popular 19th-century health care workers who treated illnesses with extremely diluted solutions of drugs that would, at full strength, produce symptoms similar to those caused by the illnesses. hospices Institutions designed to meet the needs of dying people. human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Virus that in its later stages causes AIDS. See also AIDS. illness The social experience of having a disease. illness behavior The process of responding to symptoms and deciding whether to seek diagnosis and treatment.
