HIV Digest	HIV Digest Archive

A survey of US adults found that while most believed an HIV vaccine is the best hope for controlling the global epidemic-- and that it was personally important to support HIV vaccine research-- the majority were still reluctant to support a friend or family member's participation in such trials.

Conducted December 2002 to February 2003 by members of the HIV Vaccine Communications Campaign of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the telephone survey randomly selected 2,008 adults from the general population and 1,501 adults from three at-risk groups: African Americans, Hispanics, and men who have sex with men (MSM). Among its findings:

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· 47 percent of African Americans, 26 percent of Hispanics, 13 percent of MSM, and 18 percent of the general population believe that an HIV vaccine exists but is being kept a secret.

· 78 percent of African Americans, 68 percent of MSM, and 57 percent of Hispanics either did not know whether, or incorrectly believed, that HIV vaccines being tested can cause HIV infection. Only 24 percent of the general population responded comparably.

· 77 percent of MSM cited HIV/AIDS as the most urgent health problem, in contrast to 11 percent of Hispanics, 15 percent of the general population, and 22 percent of African Americans.

· Women generally had less HIV vaccine research knowledge and awareness than men.

· 89 percent each of Hispanics and MSM, 86 percent of African Americans, and 73 percent of the general population thought it was important to personally support HIV vaccine research. However, only 29 percent of the general population expressed strong support for family members or friends volunteering for an HIV vaccine trial, compared to 35 percent of African Americans, 46 percent of Hispanics, and 68 percent of MSM.

Editor's Note: from the Journal of AIDS website