Background Information

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It has been more than a 15 years since the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic began. HIV is now spreading more rapidly than ever, with over 90,000 new cases in the United States alone each year. It is already expected that 1 in every 250 persons in the United States are HIV infected, with over ten million others infected around the world. HIV has caught the eye of over 250,000,000 Americans, yet no one knows the cure.

The cumulative in cost of treating the HIV infected population in America has now exceeded the $13.0 billion mark. It is estimated that the average yearly cost of treating a person with AIDS is $38,000 per year. The total cost of AIDS treatment throughout an AIDS patient’s life is over $130,000.

The failure to develop in effective vaccine or adequate medical treatment indicates that future research and work must now be directed toward the prevention of HIV. To many, the unmanageability of AIDS may be evidence that our governmental policy needs drastic public health changes.

More and more question the actions the government is taking in trying to stop this epidemic. Controversial policies like mandatory testing, contact identification, permanent birth control, uninformed consent, and unauthorized disclosure are beginning to be brought up. All of these questions pertain to public health policy.

So, the question is, "Should the AIDS epidemic treated as a public health issue?" The conflict between the individual’s right to freedom and privacy verses the society’s right to control public health issues is emerging.

This is where the physicians’ opinions play in important role. Because of their prominence and extended education, the physicians’ beliefs and convictions can significantly influence each health-related decision the government makes. The American society would finally understand where physicians stand on what should be done to prevent HIV from spreading.

A physician’s opinion on public policy in AIDS prevention can be influenced by such variables as gender, age, location, past experiences with AIDS infected patients, experience, and specific occupation. Just one variable could influence a physician enough to have a totally different opinion. By analyzing the data with the personal information given from the physician, the data would then be more accurate and less generalized.

So, the problem is, "What are the different physicians opinions pertaining to public policy when dealing with AIDS prevention?" The data collected may hopefully help guide the American Public Health Care System into the next millennium.