Health educators in the workplace: helping companies respond to the AIDS crisis

Abstract

As the number of cases of AIDS increases, more and more companies will have to decide how to handle employees with AIDS and those at high risk. AIDS creates medical, legal, and ethical issues in the workplace, all of which are emotional and complex; managers need expert assistance to guide their decision-making and policy development. This article identifies various dimensions of the AIDS-related issues emerging in corporations nationwide, including: confidentiality, the right of patients to work, benefits and insurance, HTLV-III screening, fears of contagion among workers, needs of companies to avoid financial and legal exposure, and effects on worker productivity. Health educators are in a unique position to contribute to the satisfactory resolution of AIDS-related problems in the workplace through their training and experience in education, policy development and the relevant legal and ethical issues in the health care field. However, they will have to initiate discussions with corporation executives themselves in order to reach this most important audience.

PIP: Because of their training and experience in education, policy development, and legal and ethical issues in health care, health educators are uniquely qualified to address the problems of AIDS-related issues in the workplace. Employees with AIDS face many problems in the workplace, among which are confidentiality, protection of the right to work, discrimination by fellow employees, and inadequate health insurance. Employers need to be fully informed about the legal and ethical aspects of these issues, both for high-risk, potentially infectious employees and healthy workers. Although a variety of federal, state, and local laws have been enacted to protect employees with AIDS against discrimination, other legislation ensuring a safe working environment for all employees seems to conflict with anti-discrimination laws. Some companies have adopted a risk management approach to the AIDS crisis, but such an approach may cause companies to overlook other problems associated with AIDS. Health educators need to take the initiative in contacting corporations to establish strategies for dealing with AIDS-associated problems. Education about AIDS for all employees is a major recommendation of many experts in the field. Other issues, such as the need for legal counsel and the decision to establish a formal policy about AIDS are issues that could be addressed by health educators. By initiating contact with corporations, law firms, insurance companies, and special interest organizations, health educators can make a significant contribution toward the successful resolution of AIDS-related problems in the workplace.