AIDS and social work: the ethics and civil liberties agenda

Social workers are becoming increasingly involved in casework and social policy debate related to the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) crisis. To enhance their delivery of services and contribution to policy formulation, social workers need to be familiar with a wide range of ethical and civil liberties issues that have been generated by the AIDS epidemic. This article provides an overview of six major ethical and civil liberties issues pertaining to social work practice related to AIDS: (1) mandatory screening and testing of clients for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), (2) client access to health insurance, (3) professionals' duty to treat HIV-infected clients, (4) privacy and confidentiality, (5) client involvement in AIDS research, and (6) relevant legal issues. Implications for social work practice are highlighted, particularly with respect to protecting clients' rights and formulating a social action agenda.