Social work and AIDS

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a new contagious disease for which no cause or cure is known at present. The majority of people who have contracted AIDS is gay men. This paper examines individual and societal responses to this illness and to homosexuality that create issues for social work practice. These are unique to AIDS and at the same time exemplary of issues in all of health care. General principles of practice are applied to the specifics of dealing with AIDS and social work tasks with patients, families and significant others, health care staff, the community and policy makers are identified.