CNN.com Chat Transcript - Jennifer Kates on Kaiser AIDS survey

Jennifer Kates is senior program officer for HIV/AIDS policy for the Kaiser Family Foundation and directs the foundation's policy research in this area. She is also involved in a number of projects with the Public Health Information and Communication Program at the foundation.

CNN Moderator: Good morning, Jennifer Kates. Welcome to CNN.com Newsroom.

Jennifer Kates: Good morning. I'm really pleased to be here today.

IN-DEPTH     MESSAGE BOARD     ALSO     RESOURCE

CNN Moderator: What are some of the highlights of this new study of Americans' attitudes about AIDS?

Kates: The highlights include that Americans view AIDS as the urgent global health issue, and one of the top health concerns in the nation, second only to cancer. Concern is highest among minority Americans and young Americans.

Question from chat room: Ms. Kates, do you think the privacy laws that exposes people to general knowledge of their HIV condition cause many to not seek treatment or testing?

Kates: The studies on that question have varying results. Some tend to say that people at risk and with HIV may be deterred from seeking the care they need and testing, because of fear of disclosure. Other studies show that it's not a big factor -- however, there is discrimination and stigma still in America today. We found this in our study. There's a correlation between stigma and fear about people knowing your status, and whether or not you are seeking the care that you need.

Question from chat room: AIDS disappeared while Clinton was in office. Now that Bush is president, will the AIDS crisis be back in the public discussion more frequently?

Kates: I think that in the 90's, we had a lot of successes, and a lot of challenges. One of those included the introduction of combination therapy, or HAART, which some say causes people to not be so concerned, because they think there are effective treatments. There was some media treatment that might have made people think that we had conquered HIV. That's not true. With more attention on the global crisis, there's been growing attention to the crisis internationally, and somewhat domestically as well. Since the new administration has begun, from the community and from the administration, there's been a focus on the crisis, particularly internationally.

Question from chat room: Do you think that the long-term survival of HIV positive celebrities like Magic Johnson has reduced concern among the general populace?

Kates: We don't know the answer to that. Long-term survival of well-known figures, I think, shows a lot of different things, including that people can live with this disease. That's important for people to know. If you have access to care and treatment, your chances of living a longer, healthier life are improved. Whether that has contributed to people's lessened concern, I don't know the answer.

CNN Moderator: Is this survey conducted annually? How do the attitude data compare with surveys of years past?

Kates: Our survey is conducted every other year, and we have been doing it since 1995. This is the third. We have seen that, as I mentioned, concern remains quite high. However, the proportion of Americans ranking AIDS as the number one health concern facing the nation has declined over time. Still, concern is highest among minorities and young people. People are still personally concerned, 20 years into the epidemic.

CNN Moderator: Besides overall concern about the disease, what other issues were explored in the survey?

Kates: We also looked at how people saw the response of different stake-holders, the federal government, states, doctors, etc. We found that Americans believe that most of these groups should be doing more. For example, two-thirds of Americans believe that the federal government is not doing enough to fight the epidemic in the United States. Americans also believe that state and local governments, schools, corporate America, are all not doing enough. In addition, we found that over half say the federal government should be spending more on AIDS in the U.S. We also found very strong support for prevention, treatment and research -- all three. We also found support for what someone called more controversial things, like more sex education about HIV, and needle exchange. We found strong support for both those policies. I mentioned earlier that minority Americans and young people were especially concerned. Seventy percent of African-Americans and 64 percent of Latinos, compared to 44% of whites, say that AIDS has become a more urgent problem for the country over the last few years. Majorities of African-Americans and Latinos are personally concerned about becoming infected, compared to one-third of whites.

CNN Moderator: Do you have any final thoughts for us today?

Kates: One final thought. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that while Americans know the basics about HIV, there are still misconceptions about, for example, transmission, risk -- and there is still stigma against people with HIV. So, there's clearly room for more information and education, and Americans say they want more information and education about HIV.

CNN Moderator: Thank you for joining us today, Jennifer Kates.

Kates: Thank you very much for the great questions!

Jennifer Kates joined the chat room via telephone from Washington, D.C. CNN provided a typist for her. The above is an edited transcript of the interview on Monday, June 04, 2001.

CNN COMMUNITY:

ncG1vJloZrCvp2Owr7qNnKamZ5OdrrV706uYp6uTp7axwNJoaWloYWR9d3uPbmakmaSawHC1zZ2csWaYqbqt