Addressing the transmission of AIDS to a sexual assault victim population is a multi-disciplinary effort by nursing, medicine, social services, mental health, and law enforcement. The attention of AIDS has been on the alarming epidemiological statistics; the known high risk populations in which over 79% of the 27,704 cases of AIDS have occurred (homosexual and bisexual men, intravenous drug users, patients with hemophilia, and sexual partners of individuals in these groups); and the prevention of transmission. Awareness is growing that many population groups may be at risk as more information is learned about transmission, especially that a single exposure to the virus may be powerful enough to transmit the virus. Although AIDS has been identified with certain populations, it is spreading so rapidly in its most toxic and latent form that its emergence in the victim population is emminent. Offenders are at high risk of contracting AIDS and because of their indiscriminate sexual behavior can become a primary source of perpetuating AIDS in a naive, unsuspecting populations.
The aims of this study is threefold with each of these aims to advance professional understanding about AIDS transmission in sexual assault and how to ethically and therapeutically intervene.
Aim 1 is to identify, through a Working Meeting, the current efforts involved in the monitoring of the transmission of the HIV antibody from perpetrators to sexual assault populations.
Aim 2 is to describe, through a survey tool, the ethical and legal dilemmas that arise prior to beginning a study of the incidence and prevalence of AIDS and AIDS related syndrome in sexual assault populations.
Aim 3 is to develop, through a Working Meeting, guidelines for a research protocol to be tested in three clinical sites to begin the study of prevalence and incidence of AIDS in victim and offender population.
| Burgess, A W; Jacobsen, B S; Baker, T et al. (1992) Workplace fear of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. J Emerg Nurs 18:233-8 |
