Location

University of Nevada Las Vegas, Science and Education Building

Start Date

9-8-2011 10:15 AM

End Date

9-8-2011 12:00 PM

Description

HIV is a sexually transmitted disease that develops into AIDS. There is no cure for it, only treatment. In this poster, we look at the pros and cons of disclosing this type of information. People who decide to disclose their HIV status may have various reasons for doing so, but most do it for emotional support and for prevention of spreading the disease. Those who decide to keep it private primarily do it to not face rejection, discrimination, degradation, and loss of respect. (Petronio Page 72) The problem with creating a public database is that many organizations are against the idea of disclosing personal information. Through documents as old as the Constitution, government officials have deemed a public database to be unethical. It confronts with individuals’ basic rights. Others still argue that creating such a database would lower the spread of HIV, saving hundreds of lives. The balance between patient’s privacy and the well-being of society has yet to be found. We want to prevent the spreading of AIDS, so disclosure should be mandatory. By knowing who has the disease the chances of spreading it become minimal. In exchange, patients should be treated just as any other person.

Keywords

AIDS (Disease) — Patients; AIDS (Disease) — Prevention; HIV infections — Prevention; HIV-positive persons; Privacy; Right of

Disciplines

Health Policy | Immune System Diseases | Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation | Public Health | Virus Diseases

Language

English


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Aug 9th, 10:15 AM Aug 9th, 12:00 PM

AIDS/HIV denialism: Patients' privacy rights

University of Nevada Las Vegas, Science and Education Building

HIV is a sexually transmitted disease that develops into AIDS. There is no cure for it, only treatment. In this poster, we look at the pros and cons of disclosing this type of information. People who decide to disclose their HIV status may have various reasons for doing so, but most do it for emotional support and for prevention of spreading the disease. Those who decide to keep it private primarily do it to not face rejection, discrimination, degradation, and loss of respect. (Petronio Page 72) The problem with creating a public database is that many organizations are against the idea of disclosing personal information. Through documents as old as the Constitution, government officials have deemed a public database to be unethical. It confronts with individuals’ basic rights. Others still argue that creating such a database would lower the spread of HIV, saving hundreds of lives. The balance between patient’s privacy and the well-being of society has yet to be found. We want to prevent the spreading of AIDS, so disclosure should be mandatory. By knowing who has the disease the chances of spreading it become minimal. In exchange, patients should be treated just as any other person.