Education for AIDS prevention: not our only voluntary weapon.

Abstract

Authorities frequently state that education is the "only" method we have to stop the AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) epidemic until a vaccine and/or curative therapy is available. We suggest that education, while critically important to our efforts to stop transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), needs to be bolstered by additional voluntary approaches. Control of parenteral drug use, prevention of ulcerative sexually transmitted diseases, provision of expanded contraceptive services to seropositive reproductive age women, and reinforcement of risk-reduction behaviors through extended follow-up interventions are required as well. The support of these voluntary programs is a necessary complement to educational approaches which impact on HIV transmission and eventually on the AIDS epidemic.