Examining the ethical and legal issues generated by the HIV epidemic

This article addresses ethical and legal issues related to the HIV epidemic. The author discusses individual and utilitarian schools of philosophy, and identifies philosophical issues in relationship to the stage of HIV infection that the client is experiencing. Prevention strategies and nursing interventions for three levels of prevention are also presented. HIV infection is now accepted as a chronic disease, which is characterized by different stages. Nursing intervention focused on prevention can be related to the stage of infection.