Medical students’ attitudes towards caring for patients with AIDS in a high incidence area

Abstract

Second-year medical students (N = 174) at a medical school located in an area of high incidence for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were surveyed for their attitudes and perceived risk of different degrees of contact with AIDS patients. Fifty percent of the class were surveyed prior to a 60-minute lecture on the epidemiology of AIDS; the other half were surveyed immediately thereafter. Data were analyzed by multivariate and univariate analyses of covariance and logistic regression. The lecture had no measurable impact on students’ attitudes and perception of risk. More than 60% of students believed that drawing blood from an AIDS patient carried a moderate to high risk. More than 22% thought that performing a physical examination was associated with a moderate to high risk. Perceptions of risk associated with various types of patient contact generally correlated with views supporting the prerogative of declining care to AIDS patients. A large number of students expressed the view that physicians in private practice should have the prerogative of declining to care for new patients with AIDS (48.3%) and for longstanding patients who develop AIDS (41.4%) provided that care is insured elsewhere. Perception of risk correlated with choice of location of future residency training programs. These data suggest that medical students in the early years of training may have misperceptions of the risk of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection not corrected by merely receiving scientific facts. These misperceptions may influence both career choices and site of graduate training if not modified by subsequent corrective experiences in the third and fourth years of medical school.