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The meaning of AIDS
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BOOK REVIEWS
The Meaning ofAIDS. E. T. Juengst and B. A. Koenig (Eds). Praeger, London (1989). Price f30.95. ISBN O-275-92646-X. The contributors to this interesting text on AIDS address the many facets of health care, ethics and public reaction to this ubiquitous condition, and although all the sections are well written, some of the views expressed in certain chapters are contentious and impinge on the civil liberties of the individual. Divided into three sections this book covers the American experience of interpreting knowledge of AIDS; the clinical experience of AIDS; and AIDS and public health. In the first section there is a fascinating chapter on ethics and the language of AIDS in which the metaphor of AIDS as a crime, by use of the word victim, is discussed, along with the metaphor of AIDS as punishment, death, war and otherness. In this section there is also an interesting review of the plays “The Normal Heart” and “As Is” and the way in which they have exposed the tragedy of AIDS to the theatre-going public. The second section, on examination of the clinical experience of AIDS, looks at the response of health carers to this pandemic. The balance of the duty to care and fear of contamination leading to refusal to care are dealt with honestly, as are the issues of sustaining life at any cost, living wills, and the use of intensive care facilities for people with AIDS, and the duty to inform others of HIV sero-positivity. The final section addresses the thorny issue of public health and examines the need/desirability/usefulness of draconian legislation to prevent spread of the virus. This is perhaps the most enlightening and stimulating part of the text, and should be mandatory reading for all involved in the care and support of people with AIDS. This book is not about AIDS per se, rather, it addresses the ethical and moral issues which burden those already burdened by the physical devastation wrought by this virus.
RICHARD J. WELLS F.R.C.N.
Head of Rehabilitation Services, Royal Marsden Hospital, Fulham Road, London SW3 655.
Computers and Nursing: Application to Practice, Education and Research. Helen C. Cox, Bennie Harsanyi, Lyn C. Dean. Prentice Hall, London (1990). Price f13.95. ISBN 8385-1323-9. The purpose of this American authored book is to communicate basic information about computers and their applications so that nurses can become informed users of computers. As with many similar titles this book takes the reader into the subject through the computer hardware which is appropriate to the title but not to the reality of making computers support nursing information and communication needs. Indeed, the considerable analytical, human input needed to realise the potential benefits of computerisation is given very light treatment.
BOOK REVIEWS
The Meaning ofAIDS. E. T. Juengst and B. A. Koenig (Eds). Praeger, London (1989). Price f30.95. ISBN O-275-92646-X. The contributors to this interesting text on AIDS address the many facets of health care, ethics and public reaction to this ubiquitous condition, and although all the sections are well written, some of the views expressed in certain chapters are contentious and impinge on the civil liberties of the individual. Divided into three sections this book covers the American experience of interpreting knowledge of AIDS; the clinical experience of AIDS; and AIDS and public health. In the first section there is a fascinating chapter on ethics and the language of AIDS in which the metaphor of AIDS as a crime, by use of the word victim, is discussed, along with the metaphor of AIDS as punishment, death, war and otherness. In this section there is also an interesting review of the plays “The Normal Heart” and “As Is” and the way in which they have exposed the tragedy of AIDS to the theatre-going public. The second section, on examination of the clinical experience of AIDS, looks at the response of health carers to this pandemic. The balance of the duty to care and fear of contamination leading to refusal to care are dealt with honestly, as are the issues of sustaining life at any cost, living wills, and the use of intensive care facilities for people with AIDS, and the duty to inform others of HIV sero-positivity. The final section addresses the thorny issue of public health and examines the need/desirability/usefulness of draconian legislation to prevent spread of the virus. This is perhaps the most enlightening and stimulating part of the text, and should be mandatory reading for all involved in the care and support of people with AIDS. This book is not about AIDS per se, rather, it addresses the ethical and moral issues which burden those already burdened by the physical devastation wrought by this virus.
RICHARD J. WELLS F.R.C.N.
Head of Rehabilitation Services, Royal Marsden Hospital, Fulham Road, London SW3 655.
Computers and Nursing: Application to Practice, Education and Research. Helen C. Cox, Bennie Harsanyi, Lyn C. Dean. Prentice Hall, London (1990). Price f13.95. ISBN 8385-1323-9. The purpose of this American authored book is to communicate basic information about computers and their applications so that nurses can become informed users of computers. As with many similar titles this book takes the reader into the subject through the computer hardware which is appropriate to the title but not to the reality of making computers support nursing information and communication needs. Indeed, the considerable analytical, human input needed to realise the potential benefits of computerisation is given very light treatment.