Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Denialism

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Mental Health Practitioner's Guide to HIV/AIDS

  • 1775 Accesses

Abstract

Denialism in science means rejecting statements and facts accepted by the scientific community. According to Diethelm and McKee, most forms of denialism share five common characteristics: conspiracy theories, fake experts, selectivity, impossible expectations of what research can deliver, and misrepresentation and logical fallacies. HIV/AIDS denialism is a public health concern as it misinforms both governments and lay people, thereby jeopardizing prevention and treatment for the infected individuals and creates confusion and distrust in the scientific community and among healthcare providers. HIV/AIDS denialism, a concept created in the late 1980s, holds that AIDS is not caused by HIV.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Suggested Reading

  • Chigwedere, P., & Essex, M. (2010). AIDS denialism and public health practice. AIDS and Behavior, 14(2), 237–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S. (2001). States of denial: Knowing about atrocities and suffering. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diethelm, P., & McKee, M. (2009). Denialism: What is it and how should scientists respond? European Journal of Public Health, 19(1), 2–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fourie, P., & Meyer, M. (2010). The politics of AIDS denialism. South Africa’s failure to respond. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalichman, S. (2009). Denying AIDS, conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and human tragedy. New York, NY: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNeill, F. G. (2009). ‘Condoms cause AIDS’: Poison, prevention and denial in Venda, South Africa. African Affairs, 108(432), 353–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Suggested Resources

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Ana-Gabriela Benghiac

Authors
  1. Ana-Gabriela Benghiac
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana-Gabriela Benghiac .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatis, Case Western Reserve University, Euclid Ave. 10900, Cleveland, 44106-4945, Ohio, USA

    Sana Loue

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Benghiac, AG. (2013). Denialism. In: Loue, S. (eds) Mental Health Practitioner's Guide to HIV/AIDS. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5283-6_31

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation