HIV, Addiction, Prevention And Treatment

Kamiar Alaei’s 8 Tavaana lectures cover HIV/AIDS, drug addiction, and hepatitis, tying these highly relevant issues for Iran to matters of public health advocacy and human rights. In his first four lectures, Alaei explores the specifics of drug addiction, beginning with a general overview of the physiological process of addiction in addition to its health and medical implications. His next three lectures cover the distinction between dependence and addiction, the factors that play a role in creating an addiction, the behaviors that place one at risk of addiction, the dangers of using narcotics (particularly those injected intravenously), and the levels of success ascribed to various methods of treating addiction. Alaei's second set of lectures cover HIV/AIDS, which he examines in terms of its spread through drug use and the potential for treatment. He then explains how the HIV virus functions in comparison to other diseases, methods that are used for testing for the disease, and the steps necessary for providing psychological and social support to those suffering from the disease.