Attitude of established physicians to treating HIV-infected patients and to "acquired immunodeficiency syndrome". An empirical study

Background: There is no empirical data available on attitudes concerning AIDS and habits towards HIV infected patients of physicians in general or private practice. In this study results of a self-evaluation are presented.

Methods: 178 physicians working with out-patients in different medical fields were randomly selected for a cross sectional study and interviewed using a standardised questionnaire.

Results: 89% think that they are sufficiently informed about AIDS (in the USA 20%). They regarded the risk of infection to be lower than the Anglo-American physicians. They believed there is a lack of interchange of information between colleagues regarding the degree of infectiousness of referred patients. A third of the physicians fear that other patients will go elsewhere if they find out that their physician is treating AIDS patients. 54% would hold special clinic sessions for HIV-patients outside the normal schedule for practice times. 89% believed that HIV patients were partly to blame for their illness.

Conclusions: Although the physicians recognise the problem of HIV-infection, they partly deny the real necessities and facts. A reason for this could be the emotions underlying the general attitude to everything pertaining to HIV-disease. Attitudes to HIV-disease and the dealing with it in daily practice must be considered on the basis of individual emotional motives.