Medical students' perceptions of and willingness to treat patients who are HIV infected

The purpose of this study is to examine the independent and joint influences of a patient's mode of acquisition of illness (blood transfusion vs. multiple sexual partners), attributions of responsibility (self-blame vs. chance blame), and sexual orientation (homosexual vs. heterosexual) on female and male medical students' attitudes toward and willingness to treat a patient who is HIV infected. One hundred nineteen 1 st through internship-year medical students were randomly assigned to read and respond to case vignettes. Greater consistency between attribution of blame and mode of acquisition was related to more positive perceptions. Furthermore, the patient's sexual orientation influenced the providers' willingness to offer treatment, particularly for male medical students. Implications concerning health practices and medical education are considered.