Results of a Gallup Poll on Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome--
New York City, United States, 1985
According to results of two polls done for the New York City
Department of Health by the Gallup Organization in June 1985, 95%
of
the U.S. population has heard of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS) (Table 2). The surveys were done simultaneously--one, a
sample
of only New York City (N.Y.C.) residents, and the other, a national
sample excluding New York City. To ascertain levels of knowledge
about AIDS among adolescents, the sample was enlarged to include
304
youths 13-18 years of age.
In both the N.Y.C. and U.S. polls, respondents with incomes
under
$10,000 were less likely to be aware of AIDS. There were no major
regional differences in AIDS awareness in the national sample,
although respondents in the East and West exhibited slightly higher
levels of knowledge than respondents in the South and Midwest.
When asked, "Who is most likely to have AIDS?" one-half to
two-thirds of all respondents mentioned homosexual men. In answer
to
the same question, N.Y.C. respondents were two to three times more
likely to mention intravenous (IV) drug abusers than were U.S.
respondents. (IV drug abusers comprise 36% of N.Y.C. AIDS patients,
compared with 26% of all other AIDS patients.) When given a set of
statements to be answered "true" or "false," both N.Y.C. and U.S.
respondents demonstrated a high level of knowledge about AIDS
(Table
3).
Reported by P Clarke, MPH, DJ Sencer, MD, New York City Dept of
Health; AIDS Br, Div of Viral Diseases, Center for Infectious
Diseases, Office of Public Affairs, CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note: In the absence of an available vaccine or specific
therapy for the treatment of AIDS, broad-scale prevention and
control
activities must revolve around risk reduction and programs that
positively affect behavioral changes and reduce transmission of
human
T-lymphotropic virus type III infection. Information on adolescent
awareness of AIDS is important for designing programs to prevent
the
adoption of risk-taking behavior, such as high-risk sexual
practices
or abuse of IV drugs. The results of the two polls suggest that
communication methods have been successful, not only in alerting
the
U.S. population to the general problem of AIDS, but also in raising
awareness levels concerning certain high-risk behaviors. The
increased awareness levels are encouraging, but initiatives now
need
to be targeted with specific strategies developed at the community
level that encourage and reinforce personal decisions by high-risk
individuals to avoid behaviors associated with transmission of
infection.
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