       Document 0051
 DOCN  M9620051
 TI    AIDS phobia, public health warnings, and lawsuits: deterring harm or
       rewarding ignorance?
 DT    9602
 AU    Mariner WK; School of Public Health, Boston University, MA 02118-2394,
       USA.
 SO    Am J Public Health. 1995 Nov;85(11):1562-8. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/96036591
 AB    Courts in more than a dozen states have decided cases in which a person
       has claimed money damages for his or her fear of getting acquired
       immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Although most courts have rejected
       such claims in the absence of actual exposure to the human
       immunodeficiency virus (HIV), their reasoning has varied slightly from
       state to state. This article argues that negligence law should not
       permit people who are HIV negative to recover damages for an unfounded
       fear of AIDS. Public health statements intended to educate the public
       about preventing HIV transmission may have encouraged some fear-of-AIDS
       lawsuits against health care practitioners. Although well intentioned,
       such statements have been used to justify inappropriate restrictions on
       medical practice and disclosure of a practitioner's HIV status. To avoid
       such misuse, such statements should be revised to make clear that the
       way in which procedures are performed, not who performs them, determines
       HIV transmission.
 DE    *Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/PSYCHOLOGY/TRANSMISSION  *Attitude
       to Health  Disease Transmission, Professional-to-Patient/LEGISLATION &
       JURISPRUD  Ethics, Medical  Fear  Human  *Jurisprudence  Public Health
       United States  JOURNAL ARTICLE  REVIEW  REVIEW, TUTORIAL

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

