Comparative Study of the Related Regulations to Confidentiality of Information in People Living with HIV among States of America

The emergence of AIDS has caused many challenges in various areas, including health. One of the pioneering countries for HIV control is the United States of America. This study aimed to compare the related regulations to confidentiality of information in people living with HIV among different states of the America.

In this comparative study, the related laws and regulations to confidentiality of information in people living with HIV among different states of the America were purposefully searched and compared.

Different states of the United States have adopted different regulations (in terms of text) and almost the same (in terms of content) regarding protection of the various aspects of the dimensions of confidentiality of information in people living with HIV. Some states, in addition to enacting a specific law, use the general provisions on contagious diseases to resolve HIV-related issues. In most states, informed consent is required for an HIV test, although the age and conditions are different in children. In all states, information in people living with HIV was kept confidential. However, in some states, according to some conditions, information can be disclosed for the health department, sexual partners or the court. Differences in the level of the protection of information in different states, as well as the dispersion of these regulations in each state, can resulted in disclosure of information, stigma, discrimination and depriving the patients from health care services and threating public health.

According to the results, it is recommended that in order to reduce the stigma and discrimination and to connect the HIV positive test results to the care and treatment services, the requirements related to consent, privacy and confidentiality of information, revised and reformed in the frame of the public health law for Prevention and control of HIV.