More Than Half of U.S. Parents Fear Children Will Contract HIV, AP Poll Says
Although only 20% of the adult participants in an Associated Press poll on AIDS said they were concerned they would contract HIV someday, more than 51% said they were concerned that a son or daughter would contract HIV, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports. The poll, which was administered July 19-21 to 1,002 adults and conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs for the Associated Press, found that the proportion of people who thought AIDS was a "very serious" problem decreased from nearly nine in 10 in 1987 to about six in 10 in 2004. Approximately 55% of individuals polled said they believed HIV-prevention programs should focus on safe sex messages, while 40% of respondents said such education should focus on promoting sexual abstinence. In addition, although the respondents indicated support for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- the five-year, $15 billion program that would provide HIV/AIDS funding to 15 developing nations -- twice as many respondents said they would rather the money be used to fight HIV/AIDS in the United States than said that the money should be used internationally. When asked what health problem should receive the most federal funding for medical research, respondents were most likely to name cancer, with AIDS, Alzheimer's and heart disease tied as a "distant second," according to the AP/Sun (Lester, AP/Las Vegas Sun, 7/25).
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