Desired social distance from people who have hepatitis C virus: an exploration among staff in health care, dentistry, drug treatment, and tattoo/body piercing.
Staff who work in facilities such as health care, dentistry, drug treatment, and tattoo/body piercing are likely to encounter persons with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and be privy to their HCV status. The purpose of this paper is to assess staff comfort with varying levels of intimacy (i.e., social distance) with people who have HCV. We examine how previous contact with persons with HCV and knowledge of HCV including HCV specific training affect desire for social distance. Data are from a 2007 sample of 82 individuals working in health care, dentistry, drug treatment, or tattoo/body-piercing studios located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Multivariate analyses indicate that staff desire social distance from persons with HCV, but contact of certain types reduce desire for social distance. We discuss how the findings have implications for people employed in these fields, as they point to the need to dispel myths and reduce fear among staff working in facilities that may serve persons with HCV.
1Department of Sociology and Anthropology, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, USA.
Alicia Elena
AE
Suarez
Deidre
D
Redmond
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D046288:Body Piercing; D003813:Dentistry; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006526:Hepatitis C; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018671:Needle-Exchange Programs; D015205:Northwestern United States; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012929:Psychological Distance; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013240:Stereotyping; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; D013653:Tattooing; D014481:United States