Complacency, risk perception and the problem of HIV education

Abstract

Many public surveys on the issue of HIV and AIDS have concentrated on the relationship between attitudes and knowledge. Often this relationship has been found wanting or at most tenuous. A recent survey of 1,002 people in Wales has supported these earlier findings, but found additionally that discriminatory and complacent attitudes on AIDS or towards people with the ‘AIDS virus’ are held by a significant proportion of the population. The survey also discovered that people correctly perceive the risk of HIV infection as being minimal.

Depending on the question 17%-65% of the sample expressed discriminatory attitudes towards people that have the ‘AIDS virus’. There was also no marked change over previous surveys in the degree of complacency surrounding AIDS. Younger people (aged 15–34) considered themselves to be more at risk of infection with the ‘AIDS virus’ but overall the perceived risk of infection was low. A sustained low key education programme in a variety of settings and independent of perceived risk is necessary to combat prejudice and complacency.