Whose health is it? The views of injecting drug users with HIV infection and their professional carers

The views about autonomy in medical treatment of people with HIV infection (who had acquired it via the injection of drugs) and their professional carers were investigated using a standardized self-report instrument. Forty-two patients and 61 staff were entered in the study. Patients and staff reported strong endorsement of patient autonomy, but there were important differences between groups. Staff as a group reported higher preference for patients' involvement in decision-making than the patients themselves, while the opposite was true for information-seeking, where patients wanted more information than staff had anticipated. The practical implications of the findings are discussed.