ABSTRACT: 1936

Confirmatory Findings regarding AIDS/HIV Conspiracy Theory among Racial/ethnic Minorities

S.L. RUSSELL, NYU College of Dentistry, New York, NY, USA, R.V. KATZ, New York University, USA, N. KRESSIN, VA Medical Center, Bedford, MA, USA, M.Q. WANG, University of Maryland at Baltimore School of Public Health, College Park, USA, B.L. GREEN, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA, C. CLAUDIO, University of Puerto Rico-MSC, San Juan, USA, and R. LEE, New York University College of Dentistry, USA
Purpose: 1) To examine whether belief in AIDS/HIV origin conspiracy theory varied by race/ethnicity in the 2003 Research Survey Questionnaire (RSQ) survey; 2) to determine if such beliefs were related to willingness to participate in biomedical research studies; and 3) to compare our current RSQ findings to our earlier (1999-2000) Tuskegee Legacy Project Questionnaire (TLP) findings. Methods: The RSQ was administered via RDD telephone interviews to 356 African-Americans, 313 Puerto-Rican Hispanics and 493 Whites in San Juan, Baltimore, and New York. Persons were asked “How likely is it that AIDS is the result of a government plan to intentionally kill a certain group of people by genocide?” Willingness to participate was measured by the validated Likelihood of Participation (LOP) scale. Results: As in the TLP study, Blacks and Hispanics in the RSQ survey were more likely than Whites to report that AIDS was “very or somewhat” likely the result of a government plan to intentionally kill a certain group of people (Blacks 34.0% vs. Hispanics 27.1% vs. Whites 8.3%; Chi-square=158.1, df=4, p £ 0.001). In our current RSQ survey, the belief in AIDS/HIV origin conspiracy theory was not related to willingness to participate, as measured by the LOP scale, in any racial/ethnic subgroup, when controlling for confounders using linear regression. Compared to the earlier TLP study, more Blacks in the RSQ survey reported such a belief, (34.0% vs. 27.8%), and more persons in racial/ethnic stratum responded “don't know/not sure” in the RSQ survey (Whites: 14.1% vs. 6.6%; Hispanics 21.5% vs. 10.8%; Blacks 30.7% vs. 9.1%). Conclusion: While both Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than Whites to report a belief in the HIV/AIDS origin conspiracy theory, this belief was not related to decreased willingness to participate in biomedical research studies in any of the three racial/ethnic minority groups. This project was supported by NIDCR grant U54 DE 14257.
Seq #196 - Oral Health Disparities, Knowledge, Promotion 2:00 PM-3:15 PM, Friday, July 4, 2008 Metro Toronto Convention Centre Exhibit Hall D-E
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