title: Whose health is it? The views of injecting drug users with HIV infection and their professional carers.
abstract: The views about autonomy in medical treatment of people with HIV infection (who had acquired it via the injection of drugs) and their professional carers were investigated using a standardized self-report instrument. Forty-two patients and 61 staff were entered in the study. Patients and staff reported strong endorsement of patient autonomy, but there were important differences between groups. Staff as a group reported higher preference for patients' involvement in decision-making than the patients themselves, while the opposite was true for information-seeking, where patients wanted more information than staff had anticipated. The practical implications of the findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences and Psychological Medicine Division, Imperial College School of Medicine, Psychological Medicine Unit, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Carretero
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chiswick
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Catalan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D010358:Patient Participation; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D012606:Scotland