U.S. AIDS Prevention Policy for Adolescents
Fifty percent of all new HIV infections in the United States occur in people under age 25; twenty-five percent in people under age 21 (Deas, 2003, p. 1). Today, HIV infection is the seventh leading cause of death for those ages 13 through 24. Through December 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 41,287 cumulative cases of AIDS among people ages 13 through 24, and health experts estimate the number living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection to be much higher (NIAID, 2004, p. 1). Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is unquestionably, therefore, a significant public health issue.
This paper examines the state of the literature on U.S. policy toward AIDS prevention programs and methods for adolescents. It begins with a brief review of approaches to U.S. AIDS policy since researchers first identified and documented the disease in 1981. It then moves to a more in-depth review of the literature discussing the approach to adolescent AIDS prevention taken by the current administration of President George Bush.
Brief History of Presidential Approaches to AIDS Policy
The literature reveals that, in 1981, the CDC, through close relationships with local public health authorities, identified the first signs of the AIDS epidemic and moved relatively quickly to perform appropriate investigatory and educational activities (Bayer, 1995, p. 457). These activities occurred shortly after Ronald Reagan was elected president, however. Reviewers, therefore, note that the disease entered the American consciousness against the backdrop of a conservative political administration (Bayer, 1995, p. 457).
Numerous researchers argue that political resistance to recognizing AIDS hindered the CDC's ability to take the steps necessary for the delivery of appropriate AIDS prevention programs (Francis, 2001, p. 391). These researchers maintain that the politi...