Private Acts, Social Consequences - Softcover

Bayer, Ronald

9780813516240: Private Acts, Social Consequences

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0813516242 ISBN 13: 9780813516240

Publisher: Rutgers University Press, 1991

From Publishers Weekly
Bayer, staff member of a policy studies center in New York State, here reviews the record of public agencies in dealing with AIDS-created biological, social and political problems, including resolution of conflicts between privacy and the public good. He notes the contradiction between Centers for Disease Control recommendations of counseling, education and broad-scale voluntary testing of all Americans at risk, and federal policies that favor mandatory testing of the military, marriage applicants, hospital workers, patients and prostitutes, among others, and quarantine of AIDS carriers advocated by some states. Bayer recommends restraint by individuals in sexual matters and drug use, accompanied by an assault on the economic and social problems that underlie the epidemic, especially as regards the newborn and teenagers. In the growing body of AIDS literature, this is a valuable fact-finding study that should interest a lay as well as professional audience.

From Library Journal
Bayer's topic is the politically charged dilemma AIDS presents to public health officials and policymakers. What steps can be taken which will not only protect society at large, but also safeguard the privacy and civil liberties of individuals? The author ably traces the political history of AIDS. He suggests a responsible but nonauthoritarian approach, combining education; health care access for IV users; promotion of anonymous, confidential screening; defense of victims' rights; appropriate contact notification programs; and moderate laws protecting society from malicious individuals. This work is well-documented and cogently argued. Highly recommended for all academic collections and larger public libraries.

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About the Author:

Ronald Bayer, PhD, focuses his research on issues of social justice and ethical matters related to AIDS, tuberculosis, illicit drugs, and tobacco. He is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and has served on its committees dealing with the social impact of AIDS, tuberculosis elimination, vaccine safety, smallpox vaccination and the Ryan White Care Act. Dr. Bayer has been a consultant to the World Health Organization on ethical issues related to public health surveillance, HIV and tuberculosis. His articles have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet, the American Journal of Public Health, and The Milbank Quarterly.

From Library Journal:

Bayer's topic is the politically charged dilemma AIDS presents to public health officials and policymakers. What steps can be taken which will not only protect society at large, but also safeguard the privacy and civil liberties of individuals? The author ably traces the political history of AIDS. He suggests a responsible but nonauthoritarian approach, combining education; health care access for IV users; promotion of anonymous, confidential screening; defense of victims' rights; appropriate contact notification programs; and moderate laws protecting society from malicious individuals. This work is well-documented and cogently argued. Highly recommended for all academic collections and larger public libraries.
- Judith Eannarino, George Washington Univ. Lib., Washington,
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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