Public Opinion and AIDS: Lessons for the Second Decade

Abstract

In 1988, we published an overview of then current public opinion data about AIDS. In this discussion, we review the results of more recent national opinion surveys to reveal some common themes in the public's attitudes about AIDS as the nation faces its second decade of caring for afflicted persons and tries to slow the escalation of the epidemic. First, we present data on general attitudes about the severity of the epidemic and the public's perceptions of personal risk, and we update trends on discriminatory attitudes toward people with AIDS. Second, given this climate of opinion, we look at the realities of shaping AIDS policy in the 1990s.