Vulnerable Populations- buzz word

“Vulnerable populations” has been such a buzz word especially in the public health sector. It is indeed a very loaded term. Some might even find it offensive had they found themselves labelled under this category. Vulnerable populations is a term used to describe a wide spectrum of peoples, it is an umbrella term. I’ve seen this term used looslely in undergrad, I was a sociology major and naturally social workers and soc majors cater to “vulnerable populations” which would include women, children, the handicapped, disabled, HIV positive individuals, the un-insured, homeless people, high-risk teens, low-income families, single-parents family, immigrants, seriously-ill children, commerical sex workers, and the list can go on. Having studies sociology in undergrad and currently public health at USC, it isclear to me that health is not solely the result of genetic factors. Health is the outcome of many contributors such as environmental, societal, governmental, economic, educational factors. The “diseased” or the “ill” should not be blamed as sinners for the physical ailments or abnormalities. For instance, many homeless individuals are victims of mental health disorders who were either pre-disposed genetically or were born into circumstances which had lead them to become homeless ie.) alcoholism, depression, unemployment which in turn could have been the fault of the economy, the environment etc. Another example of someone who may be labelled under vulnerable populations are teen commerical sex workers. I’ve worked and counselled many of them at juvenile hall and if a female prostitute is diagnosed with an STD, surely it was her behavior that lead her to become exposed to STI’s, but she is a “vulnerable” person in the grand scheme of things because she is a child who has been sexually violated, abused, and neglected which had lead her to prostition. I clearly had seen them as victims. Currently at MCA where I work which is an AIDS research clinic, there are two categories most of our patients fall under: the were either infected with HIV perinatally or behaviorally (mostly through sexual intercourse). Those who were born with HIV were infected through mother to child transmission. Are the more of victims than of those who actively had sex with someone who was HIV?