August 2002

The Stigma’s Still There

A study of AIDS-related stigma in the United States published in the March American Journal of Public Health found trends “both hopeful and disturbing.” The study drew on data from surveys in 1991, 1997, and 1999.

The hopeful trend is that fewer than one in five adults still supported punitive measures like quarantine and public identification of people with AIDS (PWAs) by 1999. But one-sixth expressed disgust or supported public naming of PWAs, and one-fourth felt uncomfortable having direct or symbolic contact with a PWA.

Worse, the proportion of adults who believed that a person infected with HIV through sex or drug use deserves to have AIDS increased over the decade, and half perceived PWAs to be responsible for their illness. The proportions of respondents overestimating the risks posed by some forms of casual social contact were higher in 1997 and 1999 than in 1991. The authors came to the following conclusions:

“First, AIDS education efforts have effectively communicated how HIV is transmitted but have been less successful in convincing the public that AIDS is not spread through casual social contact. Second, given that these respondents represent a large number of adults, it is understandable that many PWAs fear the consequences of stigma when their diagnosis becomes known to others. Such fears are likely to have detrimental effects on PWAs and persons at risk for HIV. They will also affect the success of programs and policies intended to prevent HIV transmission. Thus, eradicating AIDS stigma remains an important public health goal for effectively combating HIV.”