Social workers' comfort in providing services to AIDS patients

With the steadily increasing number of people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, social workers are being called on to play a key role in meeting the complex psychosocial needs of infected individuals and their significant others. To understand more about social workers' levels of comfort in providing services to individuals with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and their family and friends, a survey of social workers in 12 hospital centers was carried out. The majority of social workers were found to be compassionate and sensitive to the needs of this patient population. Several factors were found to be associated with comfort, including various background characteristics, knowledge about the disease, homophobia, negative moral attitudes toward people with AIDS, and the reactions of family and friends. In this article, the authors review these findings and discuss their implications for social work education and practice.