Major changes in the nature and dynamics of the AIDS epidemic over the last few years are reflected in changing epidemiological trends as well as in the progress made in biomedical research and treatment. AIDS in Europe brings together papers from leading social science researchers to look at the opportunities and challenges these changes bring and the different ways in which they are being responded to in both western and eastern Europe. Papers are organised under three headings:
*new challenges for HIV prevention
*care of people living with HIV/AIDS in a new therapeutic context
*AIDS public policies: from specialisation to normalisation
AIDS in Europe provides a comprehensive overview of current social and behavioural research on HIV and AIDS for all health professionals.

This book emphasizes the factors in the spread and control of AIDS that have received less attention in the literature. It suggests that a collaborative action program involving traditional healers is necessary if we wish to impact the spread of AIDS and other STDs in Africa.

In December 1982, the Centers for Disease Control received the first reports of cases of children with HIV/AIDS. Since that time, the child welfare system, as well as other human service organizations, have been coping with and responding to the crises of children and families living with HIV/AIDS, including the considerable number of children affected by AIDS through the illness of their parents, siblings, or other family members. This volume is intended as a resource for personnel within the child welfare field serving children and families whose lives are touched by HIV and AIDS. The contributors add insight to and fuel the discussion of the fight against AIDS. They provide tools to help better serve the children and adolescents that the current epidemic so tragically affects. Chapters and contributors include: "Factors Associated with Parents' Decision to Disclose Their HIV Diagnosis to Their Children" by Lori S. Wiener, Haven B. Battles, and Nancy E. Heilman; "Custody Planning with HIV-Affected Families" by Sally Mason; "Correlates and Distribution of HIV Risk Behaviors Among Homeless Youths in New York City" by Michael C. Clatts, W. Rees Davis, J. L. Sotheran, and Aylin Attillasoy; and "HIV Prevention for Youths in Independent Living Programs" by Wendy F. Auslander, Vered Slonim-Nevo, Diane Elze, and Michael Sherraden. Originally published as a special issue of "Child Welfare," this volume examines lessons learned from a variety of perspectives and settings, and identifies a number of continuing challenges facing the field. "Children and HIV/AIDS" is an invaluable compendium that should be read by social workers and health specialists and all those affected by the epidemic.

All over the world, families and communities are key providers of care and support. This is particularly true in relation to serious illnesses such as HIV and AIDS. Yet families and communities can also stigmatize their members, leaving people to die in the most appalling conditions. This book looks at the diversity of family and community responses to HIV and AIDS. By examining contexts as diverse as nuclear, extended and refugee family households, and gay community networks and structures, it offers important insight into the factors which lead to positive responses and those which trigger negative ones.

Men Who Sell Sex is the first comprehensive international account of male prostitution and AIDS. While much is known about female prostitution and sex work, relatively little is known about men who sell sex - either to women or other men. This book brings together an authoritative collection of essays from different countries and examines sexual behaviour, the reasons men sell sex, the meanings involved, and implications for HIV prevention. The authors are all experts in their fields and individual chapters offer a compelling description of the reasons men sell sex and the pleasures and risks involved.

The way in which the Netherlands has responded to AIDS is arguably regarded as well organized and effective. This is possibly due to the timely and effective response to the threat of the disease, with a prevention programme starting in 1982. This book uses the Dutch example to provide an instructive case study for other countries with relevance for policy makers now and in the future. It documents and discusses the Dutch prevention policy, most specifically the prevention policies and activities for various target groups. It examines prevention research and studies on sexuality and health behaviour with the emphasis on individual responsibility.

The way in which the Netherlands has responded to AIDS is arguably regarded as well organized and effective. This is possibly due to the timely and effective response to the threat of the disease, with a prevention programme starting in 1982. This book uses the Dutch example to provide an instructive case study for other countries with relevance for policy makers now and in the future. It documents and discusses the Dutch prevention policy, most specifically the prevention policies and activities for various target groups. It examines prevention research and studies on sexuality and health behaviour with the emphasis on individual responsibility.

Since nearly the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, activists have signaled the inadequacy of prevention strategies and drug protocols that have been developed from research done primarily on men. The latest C.D.C. figures prove they were right; for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, AIDS cases among white men have fallen, yet the largest increases are among women.
Weaving together theoretical, critical, and practical perspectives, "Gendered Epidemic" is a collection of essays that questions the "add women and stir" model that governs most HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment efforts. The individual essays describe conflicts and contradictions, and pose new theories and practices. Written by HIV positive women, theorists, teachers, artists, policy makers and activists, it offers insights necessary to stem the spread of HIV.

Since nearly the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, activists have signaled the inadequacy of prevention strategies and drug protocols that have been developed from research done primarily on men. The latest C.D.C. figures prove they were right; for the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, AIDS cases among white men have fallen, yet the largest increases are among women.
Weaving together theoretical, critical, and practical perspectives, "Gendered Epidemic" is a collection of essays that questions the "add women and stir" model that governs most HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment efforts. The individual essays describe conflicts and contradictions, and pose new theories and practices. Written by HIV positive women, theorists, teachers, artists, policy makers and activists, it offers insights necessary to stem the spread of HIV.

Meddling with Mythology examines the role of research in the construction of modern mythology or folklore surrounding HIV/AIDS.
Researchers from a variety of disciplines reflect on the insights gained and the impact of their work, in light of the initial panic surrounding the prediction of an AIDS epidemic.
Issues discussed include: -
* power
* representation
* the politics of text
* understanding research relationships
* impact of research on researchers and responders
* potential for change.
Meddling with Mythology takes the reader from the theoretical to the practicable and from the public to the personal in the representations of AIDS. The issues raised here also have great significance for those concerned with the social construction of knowledge, theory building and the research process more generally.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of behavioral interventions to prevent HIV-AIDS risk-related behaviors. It synthesizes the empirical literature on individual, group, and community-level interventions and provides an objective and detailed assessment of intervention outcomes. Factors associated with behavioral risk for HIV transmission, theories of HIV risk behavior change, and the state of HIV prevention technology transfer are also reviewed. Additionally, behavioral interventions for adolescents and adults of diverse ethnic and sexual backgrounds are discussed with respect to each intervention type. Although the focus is on sexual risk reduction, interventions for sexual behavior of substance abusing populations are also covered.

Robert Ariss - activist and academic - had a unique vision of HIV/AIDS. As an HIV seropositive individual for many years before his death on May 9, 1994, he was a full participant in, and critic of, the development of the gay community's response to the HIV epidemic both in Australia and internationally. Though Ariss' life is a definite presence in this study, Against Death: The Practice of Living with AIDS is not an autobiography. Instead, it is a unique and critical account of a public health crisis, a community's response, and the politics of sexuality. It was in Sydney, Australia, world-famous for its Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, that Robert Ariss lived and worked. It is his vision of that community - of its members infected with and affected by HIV - which is documented in this remarkable anthropological study. Yet the study's implications reach beyond Sydney to all communities living with HIV and AIDS.

Nancy Stoller records how the poor, people of color, gay men and lesbians, drug users, and women have built social movements to fight the impact of AIDS, revealing that organizational structure and culture have a greater impact on who is served and how than do public health theories or official organizational goals. She draws on ethnographic research and the words of the activists themselves, as well as the literature of social movements and theories of bureaucracy. In addition to the stories of the organizational strategies, the book offers guidelines for dealing with diversity and conflict with both theoretical and practical perspectives on cross-community and international organizing.

Nancy Stoller records how the poor, people of colour, gay men and lesbians, drug users, and women have built social movements to fight the impact of AIDS. This study reveals that organizational structure and culture have a greater impact on who is served and how, than public health theories or official organizational goals. Nancy Stoller draws on ethnographic research and the words of the activists themselves, as well as the literature of social movements and theories of bureaucracy. In addition to accounts of organizational strategies, the book offers guidelines for dealing with diversity and conflict with both theoretical and practical perspectives on cross-community and international organizing.

With research based on focus groups and individual interviews in the United States, as well as a thorough and integrative review of the current literature, Latino Gay Men and HIV discusses the six main sociocultural factors in Latino communities - machismo, homophobia, family cohesion, sexual silence, poverty and racism - which undermine safe sex practices. In an attempt to explain the alarmingly high incidence of unprotected intercourse in this population, this in-depth cultural and psychological analysis shows how an apparent incongruence between knowledge or intention and behaviour can possess its own sociocultural logic and meaning.

From the start of the HIV epidemic, the psychological and social aspects of the AIDS infection have been recognized. What could have been regarded simply as an infectious disease was soon acknowledged as a global problem that raised important issues about its transmission and prevention: economic, ethical and legal questions regarding the mental health consequences and the need for access to medical and social care. This volume contains a selection of key contributions to the discussion on the psychological and social implications of HIV infection. It contains authoritative papers by senior practitioners and researchers in the field of the psychological and social aspects of HIV infection. The book should appeal to those involved in providing care for people with HIV infection as well as those involved in preventing the spread of the HIV infection.

From the start of the AIDS epidemic there have been calls for greater solidarity between affected groups and communities, and public health services. This can be seen both in the move towards healthy alliances in health service work, and in the demands of AIDS activists worldwide. This text brings together specially selected papers addressing these and related themes given at the Eighth Conference on Social Aspects of AIDS held in London in late 1995. Among the issues examined are profession and policy; the heightened vulnerability of groups such as women and younger gay men; and issues of drug use, disability and HIV prevention.

From the start of the AIDS epidemic there have been calls for greater solidarity between affected groups and communities, and public health services. This can be seen both in the move towards healthy alliances in health service work, and in the demands of AIDS activists worldwide. This text brings together specially selected papers addressing these and related themes given at the Eighth Conference on Social Aspects of AIDS held in London in late 1995. Among the issues examined are profession and policy; the heightened vulnerability of groups such as women and younger gay men; and issues of drug use, disability and HIV prevention.

How sexual risk is negotiated betwen partners is an area of considerable theoretical interest, with the dominant models of analysis focusing on individual decisions to engage in sexual behaviour and relying on "rational" decision-making. This work, based on the findings from work co-ordinated by the Centre d'Etudes Sociologiques in Brussels, offers a social critique of the theories and perspectives which have currently been brought to bear in the study of sexual risk behaviour and HIV. Leading European researchers offers a conceptual framework for analysis based on sexual interactions and their social context. The practical relevance of new perspectives on sexual behaviour in the context of HIV/AIDS prevention is also discussed.

How sexual risk is negotiated betwen partners is an area of considerable theoretical interest, with the dominant models of analysis focusing on individual decisions to engage in sexual behaviour and relying on "rational" decision-making. This work, based on the findings from work co-ordinated by the Centre d'Etudes Sociologiques in Brussels, offers a social critique of the theories and perspectives which have currently been brought to bear in the study of sexual risk behaviour and HIV. Leading European researchers offers a conceptual framework for analysis based on sexual interactions and their social context. The practical relevance of new perspectives on sexual behaviour in the context of HIV/AIDS prevention is also discussed.

This international collection examines a wide range of psycho-social aspects of AIDS and HIV infection, including prevention, education, healthcare and policy in terms of gender challenges.

This international collection examines a wide range of psycho-social aspects of AIDS and HIV infection, including prevention, education, healthcare and policy in terms of gender challenges.

"Adelman and Frey take advantage of every opportunity to leave their audience with a splendid reading experience that will prompt one to think about community and communication in new and exciting ways. And as it should be, the reader also will not soon forget the echoes of the voices of the ordinary, but remarkable, men and women who inspired the work -- the residents who live and have lived in the fragile community at BH". -- Journal of Health Communication

This book examines the concept of "community", focusing on how communication practices help manage the tensions of creating and sustaining everyday communal life amidst the crisis of human loss. While acknowledging how the contradictory and inconsistent nature of human relationships inevitably affects community, this intimate and compelling text shows how community is created and sustained in concrete communication practices.

The authors explore these ideas at Bonaventure House, an award-winning residential facility for people with AIDS, where the web of social relationships and the demands of a life-threatening illness intersect in complex ways. Facing a life-threatening illness can defy meaningful social connections, but it can also inspire such ties, sometimes in ways that elude us in the course of daily life. By understanding how collective communication practices help residents forge a sense of community out of the fragility and chaos f living together with AIDS, we are able to better understand how communication is inexorably intertwined with the formation of community in other environments.

Based on seven years of ethnographic research including participant-observation, in-depth interviews, and questionnaires, thisbook weaves together narratives and visual images with conceptual analysis to uncover the ongoing oppositional forces of community life, and to show how both mundane and profound communication processes ameliorate these tensions, and thereby sustain this fragile community. Because the average length of stay for a resident is seven months -- in which time he or she moves from being a newcomer to a community member to someone the community remembers -- the text reflects this short, but crystallized life, starting with the day a new resident opens the door to the day he or she passes away.

The writing is very rich -- intimate, engaging, personal, compelling, and vivid. The stories told discuss such deeply personal topics as the dilemmas of romantic relationships in a context fraught with many perils; issues of power, authority, and control that enable and constrain social life; and communicative practices that help residents cope with bereavement over the loss of others as well as their own impending deaths. The text concludes by examining the lessons learned from Bonaventure House about creating and sustaining a health community, and serves as an inspiration for strengthening interpersonal relationships and communities in other environments.

What has been the impact of AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases on the lives of young people? Youth, AIDS and Sexual Health provides a comprehensive overview of research and policy in this increasingly important area.
The book describes the world-wide incidence and prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents and examines how their sexual behaviour has changed as a result of the threat of AIDS. It also looks at young people's knowledge and attitudes about their own sexual health, as well as the usefulness of models of predicting those at risk. The authors also dicuss the effectiveness of institutional policies in educating young people and in preventing sexually transmitted diseases.
Drawing from the author's insights from their research programmes, Youth, AIDS and Sexual Health will be of considerable benefit to health care providers, sex educators and all those who work with and study adolescents.

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This study draws on feminist theory, cultural studies, the philosophy of science, and gay and lesbian studies to problematize the factual scientific discourse about AIDS, and interpret it as a political discourse. Waldby argues that much AIDS discourse relies on an implicit and unconscious equation between sexual health and heterosexual masculinity. In this equation, women, bisexual and gay men are the targets of preventative programmes, while heterosexual men tend to remain unaddressed by such programmes. Drawing upon examples of preventative policies from Australia, Britain and the USA, Waldby investigates the concept of public health and questions whose interests are represented in a "healthy society". It demonstrates the extent to which established ideas about the virus: the immune system, the HIV test and the epidemiology of the disease, rely upon unexamined, conservative assumptions about sexual identity and sexual difference.