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Published on: October 31, 2010
Public image and governance of epidemics: comparing HIV/AIDS and SARS
1Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore, AS1 03-06, 11 Arts Link, Singapore 117570, Singapore. socquahs@nus.edu.sg
Abstract:
A comparative analysis of the 2002-2003 infectious disease outbreak, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and the HIV/AIDS epidemic that has affected the world over the past two decades reveals the significant role of socio-cultural beliefs and attitudes in the shaping of people's lifestyles and approaches to the control and prevention of epidemics. The main research question is: what can we learn from the SARS experience about effective prevention of HIV/AIDS? The sources of data include population figures on the development of these epidemics and findings from two sociological studies of representative samples of Singapore's multi-ethnic population. The comparative study illustrates the impact of cultural beliefs and attitudes in shaping the public image of these two different infectious diseases; the relevance of public image of the disease for effective prevention and control of epidemics.
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