Belief in AIDS origin conspiracy theory and willingness to participate in biomedical research studies: findings in whites, blacks, and Hispanics in seven cities across two surveys.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a belief in the AIDS origin conspiracy theory is related to likelihood or fear of participation in research studies. The Tuskegee Legacy Project Questionnaire was administered via random-digit-dialed telephone interview to black, white, and Hispanic participants in 4 cities in 1999 and 2000 (n = 1,133) and in 3 cities in 2003 (n = 1,162). In 1999, 27.8% of blacks, 23.6% of Hispanics, and 8% of whites (P ≤ .001) reported that it was "very or somewhat likely" that AIDS is "the result of a government plan to intentionally kill a certain group of people by genocide." In 2003, 34.1% of blacks, 21.9% of Hispanics, and 8.4% of whites (P ≤ .001) reported the same. Whereas blacks and Hispanics were more than 3 times more likely than whites to believe in this AIDS origin conspiracy theory, holding this belief was not associated with a decreased likelihood of participation in, or increased fear of participation in, biomedical research.

Citation

Stefanie L Russell, Ralph V Katz, Min Qi Wang, Ryan Lee, B Lee Green, Nancy R Kressin, Cristina Claudio. Belief in AIDS origin conspiracy theory and willingness to participate in biomedical research studies: findings in whites, blacks, and Hispanics in seven cities across two surveys. HIV clinical trials. 2011 Jan-Feb;12(1):37-47

Mesh Tags

PMID: 21388939

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