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AIDS in the public eye: Is the epidemic viewed as a crisis?

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Abstract

To determine public opinion about the importance of AIDS as a social and policy issue, we conducted a telephone survey of a nationwide random probability sample of adults in the United States, summer 1991. Thirteen hundred and fifty adults completed the survey. The response rate was 63%. We found that 93% of respondents believe that AIDS is a crisis, and 90% believe that AIDS in the US is out of control. In addition, most people reported believing that the government should spend as much as necessary to solve the AIDS epidemic and that AIDS is a problem for everyone in society, not just those who have the disease. Respondents who had a personal connection to the AIDS epidemic (e.g., knew someone infected with HIV) and those who did not have such a connection equally believe that AIDS is an important social and political issue. In conclusion, we found that AIDS is being accorded great importance by the majority of the US public, regardless of demographic group membership and individual personal connection to the epidemic. However, AIDS scientists must be mindful of potential shifts in public opinion when considering strategies to disseminate research findings.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 74 New Montgomery, Suite 512, 94105, San Francisco, CA

    Barbara Gerbert PhD (Associate Professor and Chair)

Authors
  1. Barbara Gerbert PhD
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  2. Thomas Bleecker PhD
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Additional information

Barbara Gerbert is Associate Professor of Behavioral Sciences and Chair of the Division of Behavioral Sciences, Thomas Bleecker, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences, both at the School of Dentistry and the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, USA

We would like to thank Nona Caspers for her writing and editorial suggestions on earlier drafts.

The study was funded by Center grant No. MH42459 from the National Institute of Mental Health and by the Universitywide Task Force on AIDS.

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Gerbert, B., Bleecker, T. AIDS in the public eye: Is the epidemic viewed as a crisis?. J Community Health 18, 335–346 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01323965

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