4th International AIDS Conference Stockholm, Sweden. — June 12-16, 1988

Int Conf AIDS. 1988 Jun 12-16;4:1.108 (abstract no. PL9)

Sandra Wallman
University College, University of London, London, United Kingdom

In historical time the AIDS virus is very new. We are only beginning to realise the range of its social impact, and the extent to which the effectiveness of any strategy for controlling it will vary from one cultural setting to another. We now know that the crisis of AIDS is experienced in very different ways in different countries, and by different kinds of people in the same country. In the perspectives of social science these variations are neither random nor accidental. The dimensions of social context which govern the meaning of the disease for individuals and its non-medical effects on communities can be systematically researched and documented. Access to knowledge of these social and cultural dimensions cannot fail to strengthen the hands of epidemiological and medical experts.

This short presentation gives an overview of the contributions that are being or could be made by social scientists. Four perspectives are schematised, each arising out of the expertise of one or more social scientific discipline: (i) the spread of the AIDS virus and manifestations of the disease worldwide; (ii) its effect on social practices and institutions in different social settings; (iii) conversely, the effect of cultural perceptions and culture specific behaviour on the meaning and (so) the social fact of AIDS in different social settings; (iv) implications for the design of media and educational campaigns to make ordinary people aware of the risks and/or to persuade them to change their ways of life.

880612
PL9

Copyright © 1988 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.