Ethics & HIV Treatment

Ethical issues surrounding HIV/AIDS involve three categories: testing, treatment and research. Researchers from the University of California-San Francisco have devised general guidelines that can be applied across cultures.

History

• In the 1980s, when the HIV/AIDS epidemic was new, people with HIV/AIDS were discriminated against, often violently. Technological advancements concerning the understanding of HIV enable patients to live longer, causing ethical considerations to increase in importance.

Significance

• Western cultures focus on the ethical rights of the individual, while other cultures, especially in the Eastern world, are more concerned with the ethics of HIV as it relates to the community.

Types

• Prior to a blood draw, doctors are required to explain topics such as the nature of HIV and reporting procedures concerning test results. Patients are guaranteed confidentiality in testing, although HIV is considered a reportable disease. Research must contain no conflicts of interests and is done only with informed consent.

Features

• There are extra precautions protecting HIV-related medical record release. There are state-by-state and nation-by-nation variances concerning HIV-positive health care workers and disclosure laws to their patients.

Considerations

• Exceptions to informed consent include instances where: a patient was exposed to HIV in a medical facility, routine testing for sexual criminals and regions with mandatory newborn testing. HIV testing is becoming a routine aspect of prenatal care. Research topics involve risks and do not typically benefit the subject.