Society's Choices

Society's Choices
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 560
Release: 1995-03-27
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309051320

Breakthroughs in biomedicine often lead to new life-giving treatments but may also raise troubling, even life-and-death, quandaries. Society's Choices discusses ways for people to handle today's bioethics issues in the context of America's unique history and cultureâ€"and from the perspectives of various interest groups. The book explores how Americans have grappled with specific aspects of bioethics through commission deliberations, programs by organizations, and other mechanisms and identifies criteria for evaluating the outcomes of these efforts. The committee offers recommendations on the role of government and professional societies, the function of commissions and institutional review boards, and bioethics in health professional education and research. The volume includes a series of 12 superb background papers on public moral discourse, mechanisms for handling social and ethical dilemmas, and other specific areas of controversy by well-known experts Ronald Bayer, Martin Benjamin, Dan W. Brock, Baruch A. Brody, H. Alta Charo, Lawrence Gostin, Bradford H. Gray, Kathi E. Hanna, Elizabeth Heitman, Thomas Nagel, Steven Shapin, and Charles M. Swezey.

Ethics & AIDS in Africa

Ethics & AIDS in Africa
Author: A. A. Van Niekerk
Publisher: New Africa Books
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2005
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 9780864866738

Don: American Embassy 2 copies.

The Social Impact of AIDS in the United States

The Social Impact of AIDS in the United States
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 1993-02-01
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309046289

Europe's "Black Death" contributed to the rise of nation states, mercantile economies, and even the Reformation. Will the AIDS epidemic have similar dramatic effects on the social and political landscape of the twenty-first century? This readable volume looks at the impact of AIDS since its emergence and suggests its effects in the next decade, when a million or more Americans will likely die of the disease. The Social Impact of AIDS in the United States addresses some of the most sensitive and controversial issues in the public debate over AIDS. This landmark book explores how AIDS has affected fundamental policies and practices in our major institutions, examining: How America's major religious organizations have dealt with sometimes conflicting values: the imperative of care for the sick versus traditional views of homosexuality and drug use. Hotly debated public health measures, such as HIV antibody testing and screening, tracing of sexual contacts, and quarantine. The potential risk of HIV infection to and from health care workers. How AIDS activists have brought about major change in the way new drugs are brought to the marketplace. The impact of AIDS on community-based organizations, from volunteers caring for individuals to the highly political ACT-UP organization. Coping with HIV infection in prisons. Two case studies shed light on HIV and the family relationship. One reports on some efforts to gain legal recognition for nonmarital relationships, and the other examines foster care programs for newborns with the HIV virus. A case study of New York City details how selected institutions interact to give what may be a picture of AIDS in the future. This clear and comprehensive presentation will be of interest to anyone concerned about AIDS and its impact on the country: health professionals, sociologists, psychologists, advocates for at-risk populations, and interested individuals.

HIV and the Blood Supply

HIV and the Blood Supply
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 349
Release: 1995-10-05
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309053293

During the early years of the AIDS epidemic, thousands of Americans became infected with HIV through the nation's blood supply. Because little reliable information existed at the time AIDS first began showing up in hemophiliacs and in others who had received transfusions, experts disagreed about whether blood and blood products could transmit the disease. During this period of great uncertainty, decision-making regarding the blood supply became increasingly difficult and fraught with risk. This volume provides a balanced inquiry into the blood safety controversy, which involves private sexual practices, personal tragedy for the victims of HIV/AIDS, and public confidence in America's blood services system. The book focuses on critical decisions as information about the danger to the blood supply emerged. The committee draws conclusions about what was doneâ€"and recommends what should be done to produce better outcomes in the face of future threats to blood safety. The committee frames its analysis around four critical area: Product treatmentâ€"Could effective methods for inactivating HIV in blood have been introduced sooner? Donor screening and referralâ€"including a review of screening to exlude high-risk individuals. Regulations and recall of contaminated bloodâ€"analyzing decisions by federal agencies and the private sector. Risk communicationâ€"examining whether infections could have been averted by better communication of the risks.

The Search for an AIDS Vaccine

The Search for an AIDS Vaccine
Author: Christine Grady
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 220
Release: 1995-05-22
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780253112729

"The book is a balanced and comprehensive treatment of an important social issue. It is accessible to the general reader and belongs in public as well as academic libraries." -- Religious Studies Review "Painstaking analysis of the knotty ethical problems involved in human-subjects research, and a well-thought-out proposal for a community approach to conducting field trials for an HIV vaccine.... Highly recommended for medical ethicists and anyone concerned about the AIDS epidemic and how HIV research is conducted."Â -- Kirkus Reviews "... a carefully reasoned account of how research for and trial of a preventive vaccine differ from the methods used to discover a therapy."Â -- Booklist "I highly recommend reading this book which I would attest to be a thrilling, ethically challenging, and informative descent into the allopathic solution." -- Ryan Hosken, Bastyr University Library Newsletter "As the scientific effort to produce an efficacious vaccine continues, [Grady's] work provides an ethical compass that will guide us well, regardless of where phase III HIV vaccine trials ultimately occur." -- Journal of the American Medical Association "Highly recommended... " -- AIDS Book Review Journal "A remarkable treatment of a most difficult and complex subject... Grady's book is of special merit because it is simple, readable, and understandable, while conveying in-depth perceptions that are critical to the reader. A useful and essential reference work for those who would engage in the initiative to bring about a resolution of a mighty human health problem." -- Maurice R. Hilleman, Ph.D., D.Sc., Director, Merck Institute for Therapeutic Research "Dr. Grady's important study captures the complexity of the search for an AIDS vaccine with startling clarity. Her insights into the full range of forces that shape our national response to AIDS vaccine development should read like signposts to vaccinologists, AIDS community activists, and most importantly, the Public Health Service. An impressive contribution." -- Derek Hodel, Gay Men's Health Crisis "This book is recommended to medical ethicists, those involved in non-HIV vaccine trials, and all persons involved in HIV vaccine trials, including investigators, sponsors, study subjects and communities at risk." -- Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law The creation of a vaccine now seems the best hope for controlling AIDS. Yet developing and testing an HIV vaccine raises a host of difficult ethical issues. These concerns are the focus of this timely and important book. Essential reading for everyone interested in ethics and the conduct of HIV vaccine research.

HIV Exceptionalism

HIV Exceptionalism
Author: Adia Benton
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2015-02-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1452943850

WINNER, 2017 RACHEL CARSON PRIZE, SOCIETY FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES OF SCIENCE In 2002, Sierra Leone emerged from a decadelong civil war. Seeking international attention and development aid, its government faced a dilemma. Though devastated by conflict, Sierra Leone had a low prevalence of HIV. However, like most African countries, it stood to benefit from a large influx of foreign funds specifically targeted at HIV/AIDS prevention and care. What Adia Benton chronicles in this ethnographically rich and often moving book is how one war-ravaged nation reoriented itself as a country suffering from HIV at the expense of other, more pressing health concerns. During her fieldwork in the capital, Freetown, a city of one million people, at least thirty NGOs administered internationally funded programs that included HIV/AIDS prevention and care. Benton probes why HIV exceptionalism—the idea that HIV is an exceptional disease requiring an exceptional response—continues to guide approaches to the epidemic worldwide and especially in Africa, even in low-prevalence settings. In the fourth decade since the emergence of HIV/AIDS, many today are questioning whether the effort and money spent on this health crisis has in fact helped or exacerbated the problem. HIV Exceptionalism does this and more, asking, what are the unanticipated consequences that HIV/AIDS development programs engender?

The Social Psychology of HIV Infection

The Social Psychology of HIV Infection
Author: John B. Pryor
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2015-06-19
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317526422

In the early 1980s we witnessed the birth of one of the most complex and perplexing social problems faced by modern society: the epidemic of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Originally published in 1993 this title looks at the social psychology surrounding HIV and AIDS. The organization of the volume centres upon two themes: The Theoretical Roots of Prevention and The Dilemma of the PWA (person with AIDS). The goal of this volume is not to evaluate previous attempts to answer these social problems, but to provide theoretical analyses of some of the basic sociopsychological processes that underlie the problems. Over 20 years on this is a snapshot of research into HIV and AIDS and attitudes of the time looking at social problems that are very much still with us.

Preventing HIV Transmission

Preventing HIV Transmission
Author: National Research Council and Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 352
Release: 1995-09-14
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309176212

This volume addresses the interface of two major national problems: the epidemic of HIV-AIDS and the widespread use of illegal injection drugs. Should communities have the option of giving drug users sterile needles or bleach for cleaning needs in order to reduce the spread of HIV? Does needle distribution worsen the drug problem, as opponents of such programs argue? Do they reduce the spread of other serious diseases, such as hepatitis? Do they result in more used needles being carelessly discarded in the community? The panel takes a critical look at the available data on needle exchange and bleach distribution programs, reaches conclusions about their efficacy, and offers concrete recommendations for public policy to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS. The book includes current knowledge about the epidemiologies of HIV/AIDS and injection drug use; characteristics of needle exchange and bleach distribution programs and views on those programs from diverse community groups; and a discussion of laws designed to control possession of needles, their impact on needle sharing among injection drug users, and their implications for needle exchange programs.

AIDS and the Policy Struggle in the United States

AIDS and the Policy Struggle in the United States
Author: Patricia D. Siplon
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2002
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 9780878403783

Siplon (political science, Saint Michael's College) identifies the three key factors of any policy formation analysis as the role of organization, the role of values, and the problem of changing distributions and inflicting costs on affected groups and society in general. She applies this understanding to an exploration of several policy areas and their defining struggles related to the AIDS epidemic in the United States. The actions and impacts of actors inside and outside of government are explored in the cases of new drug policy, blood policy, harm reduction versus abstinence as AIDS prevention models, the Ryan White CARE Act, and AIDS as a foreign policy issue. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

HIV/AIDS and the Security Sector in Africa

HIV/AIDS and the Security Sector in Africa
Author: Obijiofor Aginam
Publisher:
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2012
Genre: History
ISBN:

Throughout history, communicable diseases have devastated armies and weakened the capacity of state institutions to perform core security functions. Today, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa has prompted many of the affected countries to initiate policies aimed at addressing its impact on their armed forces, police, and prisons. This volume explores the dynamics of how the security sectors of selected African states have responded to the complex and multifaceted challenges of HIV/AIDS. Current and impending African HIV/AIDS policies address a range of security-related issues: * The role of peacekeepers in the spread or control of HIV * The dilemma of public health (the need to control HIV) versus human rights (protection against mandatory medical testing) needs * The gender dimensions of HIV in the armed forces * The impact of HIV on the police and prisons The chapters in HIV/AIDS and the Security Sector in Africa are written by African practitioners, including commissioned officers who are currently serving in the armed forces, medical officers and nurses working in the military, and African policy and academic experts. While the book does not comprehensively address all aspects of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the security sector, the contributors nonetheless highlight the potentials and limits of existing policies.