Stigma, social risk, and health policy: Public attitudes toward HIV surveillance policies and the social construction of illness.
- 1 January 2003
- journal article
- Published by American Psychological Association (APA) in Health Psychology
- Vol. 22 (5), 533-540
- https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.22.5.533
Abstract
This study examined how illness-related stigma can be symbolically expressed through public attitudes toward health policies. Data from a 1999 national telephone survey with a probability sample of English-speaking US adults (N = 1,335) were used to assess how support for HIV surveillance policies is related to AIDS stigma and negative attitudes toward groups disproportionately affected by the epidemic. Anonymous reporting of HIV results to the government was supported by a margin of approximately 2-to-1, but name-based reporting was opposed 3-to-1. Compared to other respondents, supporters of name-based surveillance expressed significantly more negative feelings toward people with AIDS, gay men, lesbians, and injecting drug users. More than one third of all respondents reported that concerns about AIDS stigma would affect their own decision to be tested for HIV in the future. Implications for understanding the social construction of illness and for implementing effective HIV surveillance programs are discussed.Keywords
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