Hospital administrators' response to AIDS. Results of a national survey

Executives are just beginning to adapt to the presence of the epidemic. Two-thirds have been involved in AIDS care and these hospitals appear to be in the forefront in developing structural responses and initiating procedures to deal with the disease. Through the use of rating scale analysis, we were able to show a continuum of responses by which hospitals cope with the disease. First, educational efforts are begun, then human resource departments begin to refer employees with AIDS to caregivers. And the most developed response is for hospitals to establish specific policies for employees, ultimately requiring them to report whether or not they have the disease to their supervisor. Executives' attitudes also seem to be affected by whether or not their hospitals have cared for any AIDS patients. In contrast to the contact hypothesis used to explain prejudice, experienced administrators are more authoritarian in reacting to the crisis. For example, more experienced than inexperienced hospital administrators agree that all patients should be routinely tested for AIDS. Our findings are corroborated in a recently reported study of house staff who had been exposed to patients with AIDS. House officers who had cared for a greater number of AIDS patients showed a greater level of concern about acquiring the disease than those with less exposure. Just as experience among house officers serves to produce increasing concern for their personal safety, so too experience on the part of the executives appears to intensify anxiety in their attitudes. Experienced administrators are more likely to advocate specialized facilities for the care of AIDS patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)