SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT HIV/AIDS AND PERCEIVED RISK OF INFECTION AMONG HETEROSEXUAL YOUNG ADULTS: 1989 AND 1994

This paper reports a study of sources of information about HIV/AIDS and trust of the sources among heterosexuals in 1989 (113 females and 91 males) and 1994 (185 females and 66 males). We also examined whether perceived personal risk of HIV infection was predicted by sources of information about HIV/AIDS, trust of the sources, how informed about AIDS people believed they were, and perceived risk of infection to others, as well as whether there was a relationship between perceived personal risk and safe sex behaviour. Participants received most of their information about AIDS/HIV from magazines, newspapers, and television, but placed most trust on sources such as doctors and HIV/AIDS organisations. Perceived personal risk was influenced most by perceived risk to friends and to people with the same sexual practices. In the 1994 sample, perceived personal risk was correlated with the amount of condom use among participants with sexual experience. These results indicate ther has been relative stability across a five-year period. They also point to the continuing discrepancy among young heterosexuals between the most-used and most-trusted sources of information, as well as to the importance of peer influence on perceptions of personal risk of HIV infection.     

RISK AND THE VALUE OF INFORMATION IN IRREVERSIBLE DECISIONS

The analysis of the nexus between the value of information and risk is examined for sequential decisions with different degrees of future commitment, as e.g. environmental decisions. We find that in the linear case a riskier environment in general will increase the value of information. This result will be extended in the separable case to decreasing and increasing stochastic returns to scale. An example shows the ambiguity in the general case.     

HIV/AIDS treatments

Although fewer people are being diagnosed with AIDS in the U.S. and deaths continue to decline, the number of adults age 50 and older who are living with HIV/AIDS is larger than ever. It is likely that older people will continue to comprise an increasingly larger proportion of individuals diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, reflecting both the ineffective prevention efforts targeting older adults and the highly effective antiretroviral therapies that allow many people to live for significantly longer periods of time. These recent trends have created two distinct populations of older persons with HIV/AIDS: those who were infected later in life and those infected earlier and now aging with HIV disease. Aging with HIV/AIDS presents unique psychosocial challenges that may be exacerbated by the aging process. HIV-related stigma, social support and coping issues and evidence-based psychosocial interventions for older adults with HIV/AIDS are reviewed in this paper and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

The Dynamics of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic

The article examines several characteristics of the current market model of the Russian economy that significantly affect its current and long-term economic dynamics, primarily distinctive features of its interaction with the outside world and the specific nature of the monetary system. Individual principles of contemporary economic forecasting are critically analyzed.     

Management of HIV/AIDS in the Australian federal system

The purpose of this article is to analyse the effect of the federal structure on public health policy in a crisis situation. Federalism has been one of the most important features of the Australian political system shaping AIDS policy because it has created problems with the coordination of policies and has limited the Commonwealth's capacity to introduce a coherent national monitoring, education, protection, testing and legal framework. My main point is that in the situation of crisis, there is a tendency to rely on the political will of the centre. The political will of the federal health department, subsumed by conflicts and difficulties, has not lasted long enough to construct a new, more uniform structure (a uniform surveillance, legal and health acts framework). It can be concluded that while political intervention and political will cannot be overestimated as means of overcoming organizational rigidities in an emergency situation, the need for a framework conducive to rapid and coordinated responses is obvious. The lesson from the AIDS epidemic points to the need for more uniform public health legislation, for more uniform system of recording data on HIV and for more uniform civil liberties legislation.     

Crisis as challenge: counselling counsellors,persons living with HIV / AIDS and survivors

Although the AIDS pandemic has catastrophic implications for all levels of South African society, it can be viewed as an opportunity to face the inevitability of human mortality with dignity rather than fear and denial and to rebuild shattered communities. This article discusses issues pertaining to counseling HIV-infected persons, the counselors themselves, and families and social groups affected by AIDS-related deaths. Counseling of HIV/AIDS patients is supportive in nature, with a focus on here-and-now issues such as unfinished business, reconciliation with family members, finding meaning in daily activities, and preserving a sense of personal control. This process can be obstructed, however, by distrust of authority figures, anger at experts who fail to cure the disease, and an internalized sense of shame and inferiority. The effectiveness of AIDS counselors depends on their ability to recognize and resolve personal conflicts triggered by HIV-positive clients, including feelings about death, helplessness, overidentification, and discomfort with sexual issues. Most South Africans will face bereavement and have to go through a mourning process for friends and relatives. Complicated and delayed grief reactions triggered by new and continuous losses can be expected. Involvement of community members in the grieving process, whether as helpers, volunteers, professionals, or recipients of service, offers South African society an opportunity for development of a new culture of compassion.     

BARGAINING AND DELAY: THE ROLE OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION

This paper examines the notion that delay in reaching agreement in bargaining may be caused by learning that is independent of the bargaining procedure. In particular, learning is not due to inference from the observed offers and responses of the opponent, but derives from observation of an exogenous, costly signal – we call this 'investigation'. First we observe that even if learning is costless and perfectly informative, investigation may not occur in equilibrium. Under more general conditions, however, uninformed agents typically have an incentive to try to manipulate their prior beliefs through investigation. The main result is that investigation by an uninformed agent may result in significant delay occurring before agreement is reached. We show that this delay may be sustained in the limit as the length of time period vanishes, and that this result depends crucially on the properties of the information production technology underlying investigation. Also, the delay we observe is shown to be robust to changes in the bargaining procedure.     

Family and Friends of People with HIV/AIDS Support Group

ABSTRACT

Those who are supporting a loved one with HIV/AIDS are under a great deal of stress and need support too. This article describes a support group for family and friends living with HIV/AIDS in which members share their personal experiences, educate one another, and in the process, realize they are not alone as they learn to cope with the diagnosis of AIDS or HIV+ in someone they love. The struggles, conflicts, and emotions of the group members and of the group facilitators are discussed.     

Group Work for People Touched by HIV/AIDS Yesterday and Today

This article recounts the experience of a support group in the early days of the AIDS pandemic. After identifying the personal, interpersonal, and environmental issues that were part of the work of this early support group, the article reflects on how far we have come in addressing people's needs around HIV/AIDS. The importance of group work in working at personal and political levels is highlighted.     

HIV/AIDS fifty and older: a hidden and growing population

Contrary to common belief, HIV and AIDS are prevalent in the older adult population. Currently, between ten to fifteen percent of HIV/AIDS new cases occur in individuals fifty and older (Chiao, Ries, & Sande, 1999). With the aging of the baby boomer generation, and the introduction of erectile dysfunction medications, such statistics are guaranteed to increase at alarming rates. This population also faces hazardous risk factors that increase its possibility of contracting the disease. Stereotypes and lack of information continue to limit older adults from receiving the medical, educational, and psychological attention they need to avoid and to combat the virus. This article discusses the rising trends in the fifty and older population as well as some of the factors that increase the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among this population. Prevention, assessment, and treatment practices are also outlined; if instituted, these interventions may help promote a significant reduction in the rate of HIV/AIDS infection in the older adult population.     

Needs and Supports in Transitional Housing for People Living with HIV/AIDS in Ontario,Canada

ABSTRACT

There is a paucity of research on transitional housing for people living with HIV/AIDS (PHA) and even less so within the Canadian context. The present work addresses that gap and reports on the results from the Transitional Housing Study, a province wide community-based research collaboration involving PHA, service providers, and university researchers in Ontario Canada. This article answers the following research questions: What supports do residents in transitional housing for PHA access and what needs do these supports address? Developing from a thematic analysis of in-depth qualitative interviews with 25 residents in one of three transitional housing agencies in Ontario for PHA, the findings reveal that participants benefited from four key supports while in transitional housing: the provision of a safe environment, co-coordination and management of HIV (and other) drug therapies, assistance with appointments, and referrals to health and social services. Until more resources are available to increase availability of transitional housing for PHA, the nonprofit housing sector must fill the gap that exists by offering the types of supports identified in this study in order to address the needs of PHA. Future research may link these supports efficiently with concrete health improvements and permanent housing stability among PHA.     

Conspiracy beliefs about HIV/AIDS and birth control among African Americans: implications for the prevention of HIV, other STIs, and unintended pregnancy

In this article, we examine the potential role that conspiracy beliefs regarding HIV/AIDS (e.g., "HIV is a manmade virus") and birth control (e.g., "The government is trying to limit the Black population by encouraging the use of condoms") play in the prevention of HIV, other STIs, and unintended pregnancies among African Americans in the United States. First, we review prior research indicating that substantial percentages of African Americans endorse conspiracy beliefs about HIV/AIDS and birth control. Next, we present a theoretical framework that suggests how conspiracy beliefs influence sexual behavior and attitudes. We then offer several recommendations for future research. Finally, we discuss the policy and programmatic implications of conspiracy beliefs for the prevention of HIV, other STIs, and unintended pregnancy .     

商业性性交易者艾滋病认知、态度与行为调查

一、研究背景和方法(一)问题的提出随着中国艾滋病流行态势的加剧,预防和控制经性传播艾滋病病毒已经成为关键。在全世界,约有四分之三的艾滋病病毒是通过性途径传播的,受感染女性中有五分之四的人是通过其男性性伙伴(异性恋传播)染上病毒的(UNAIDS,2002)。新的证据显示,中国经由性途径感染艾滋病病毒的感染者比例正在上升,女性感染者上升幅度尤为明显。1998年女性感染者比例为15.3%,2001年为22.7%,2004年上升至41.0%。2004年国家哨点监测资料显示,暗娼中艾滋病病毒阳性率平均为1.0%;与此同时,暗娼人群“每次都用安全套”的比例仍处在较…     

Merger in the British Voluntary Sector: The Example of HIV/AIDS Agencies

This article explores the policy and organizational drives towards cooperation and merger within the voluntary sector. We draw together theoretical and empirical literature on the topic and identify six factors which may be hypothesized to be associated with a decision to cooperate in the voluntary sector: adverse macro-economic conditions; the search for an organizational niche; severe resource dependency; a drive for organizational growth; funders' concern about duplication of provision; and perceived crisis. We then present a case study which provides detailed data about the circumstances leading to a decision to merge by several independent voluntary agencies working in the HIV/AIDS field. We analyse the multiplicity of factors which drove the agencies and the complex interrelationships between those factors. Policy pressures, pragmatism and the personal values of key managers are found to be particularly important. Finally, we consider the implications of our study for policy analysis and future research.     

区域差异视野下的艾滋病社区防治经验——云南L县之个案研究

2003年之后，全国各艾滋病重度流行区域兴起了社区干预的高潮，各地干预的具体做法和社会后果之间存在明显差异。本文以此为出发点，以云南省L县为个案，探讨地方性防治经验的体制成因与实践过程。本文试图说明，L县经验的成功之处在于防治重心的体制沉降恰好契合了本土的族群关系及信任文化，在此基础上，良善的医患关系实践最终将村医制度打造成了连接官方防治体制与本土道德世界的制度及文化桥梁。     

Parental attitudes regarding the integration of children living with HIV/AIDS into public schools in Hanoi,Vietnam

In some areas of Vietnam, stigmatisation of HIV-infected children by parents in the community represents a major barrier to integration of such youth into public schools. To investigate parental perceptions of integration, researchers interviewed a total of 60 parents from one rural and one urban school district within Hanoi, Vietnam. Resistance to integration stemmed largely from misinformation about disease transmission and worry about protecting HIV-negative children. Educational campaigns targeted at parents, combined with higher levels of trust in the preparedness of teachers to handle situations involving HIV-positive children, could decrease current stigma and opposition to integration into public primary schools.     

SOME DEMOGRAPHIC CORRELATES OF HIV/AIDS-RELATED DISCRIMINATION

In late 1991, a survey was made of HIV/AIDS-related discrimination in the Australian community. Structured telephone interviews were conducted with a random sample of 2,053 respondents. Twenty-one questions provided an index of expressed discrimination. Social contact with HIV-positive people was a significant predictor of low levels of discrimination. Other important predictors of (lower) levels of discrimination were: social contact with gay men, education, sex, age, sexual identity, and sexual experience. Social contact with gay men was the single best predictor of positive attitudes towards people with HIV/AIDS.     

The impact of HIV/AIDS on social security contributions: The case of Zimbabwe

Significant early retirement from work due to HIV/AIDS-related illness is reducing the gainfully employed population and threatening the viability of the statutory social security schemes run by the National Social Security Authority in Zimbabwe. The economy has been in recession for a decade, with high inflation and significant job losses also impacting negatively on contributions to the National Pension and Other Benefits Scheme (NPOBS), and government imposes ceilings on insurable earnings from which contributions are drawn. There are currently no consistent strategies to mitigate attritional effects of these factors on the social security schemes. The aim of this study was to prospectively project the potential impact of HIV/AIDS and imposed ceilings on NPOBS revenue in the presence of high inflation. It was found that HIV/AIDS will reduce projected contributions to the scheme by more than 30 per cent by 2030. Policy strategies to adjust and frequently review levels of growth of imposed ceilings on insurable earnings in line with inflation growth and to invest in HIV/AIDS prevention could be adopted to ameliorate the negative impact of HIV/AIDS and/or ceiling caps on social security contributions in Zimbabwe.     

Supporting HIV/AIDS affected families and children: the case of four Chinese counties

This article focuses on the impact that HIV/AIDS has on children in China and the social support provided to these children. The research finds that the consequences of HIV/AIDS are serious: the entire environment in which children develop is adversely affected by the disease. These negative socio-economic effects are due not only to HIV/AIDS, but also to the social discrimination and exclusion experienced by affected communities and families. Local governments and societies have started to provide support to HIV/AIDS-affected children and work to reduce the social exclusion they suffer. However, many challenges and problems still lie ahead.