HIV/AIDS - An Attitudinal Survey
Final Report

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7. Government Involvement

7.1 Support

Overall, Canadians support federal government involvement in HIV/AIDS. Most agree that the Government of Canada should be involved in this issue, and most believe that federal spending on HIV/AIDS should be greater now than it was ten years ago.

Close to three-quarters (72 per cent) are supportive of federal government involvement, 21 per cent are somewhat supportive, and only five per cent are not supportive of this involvement. The minority who do not support federal government involvement in HIV/AIDS were asked to indicate why. A variety of reasons were provided, including a lack of trust in the federal government (cited by 40 per cent), that they do not know anyone with HIV/AIDS (11 per cent), that federal funds should be channelled to more critical areas (12 per cent), and that HIV/AIDS prevention should be the responsibility of the individual (seven per cent).

Furthermore, close to two-thirds believe that the federal government should spend more on HIV/AIDS now than it did ten years ago, 28 per cent believe the amount spent should be unchanged, and only two per cent believe it should spend less.

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• Support for federal government involvement is linked to education. The proportion who are supportive of federal involvement increases from 68 per cent of those with high school education or less to 79 per cent of university graduates.
   
• Those who believe HIV/AIDS is a serious problem are more likely to support federal involvement (77 per cent do), as are Canadians with a high level of knowledge (actual and perceived) (76 per cent), and a high level of comfort with people with HIV/AIDS (81 per cent support). Those who know someone with HIV/AIDS are also more supportive of federal government involvement (76 per cent).
   
• Not surprisingly (given their lower levels of tolerance and comfort), seniors are less likely to support federal government involvement in HIV/AIDS (68 per cent are supportive).
   
• Those who believe HIV/AIDS is a serious problem are more likely to believe that the federal government should spend more now (69 per cent do), as do those who believe the risk of HIV has increased in the last five years (72 per cent), and those who know someone with HIV/AIDS (67 per cent).
   
• Those with a high level of perceived knowledge, a high level of comfort and individuals who are less likely to distance themselves from the issue also tend to support increased federal government spending.

So, support for federal government involvement is higher among Canadians with higher levels of education, those who think HIV/AIDS is a serious problem, people who have high levels of knowledge and comfort with the issue and who personally know someone with the disease. Support for increased federal spending now is higher among those who think HIV/AIDS is a serious problem, those who know someone with the disease and Canadians who perceive an increased risk of infection in the past five years. This also holds true for those with high levels of perceived knowledge and comfort levels and individuals who are less likely to distance themselves from the issue.

7.2 Focus

Canadians were asked to indicate where they believe that the federal government currently focuses most of its programs and funding on HIV/AIDS, and then where they think the federal government should be focusing its attention on HIV/AIDS.

Currently, close to half (45 per cent) do not know where the federal government is focusing its attention. Roughly three in ten Canadians believe that the federal government is focusing its attention on public education (28 per cent) and research into treatment (27 per cent). Roughly one in ten (nine per cent) believe the federal government is focused on finding a cure or vaccine for HIV/AIDS, or for caring for those infected. A minority believe the federal government is focusing programs and funding in other areas.

When asked where they believe the federal government should be focusing its attention, half the population (51 per cent) states that public education should be a focus (although only 28 per cent believe it currently is). One-third believe the federal government should be conducting research into treatment (and 27 per cent believe it currently is). Canadians also believe that the federal government should be focusing attention on finding a cure/vaccine (21 per cent), caring for the infected (15 per cent) and youth education and prevention (five per cent).

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• Those with higher education and income are more likely to believe that the government currently focuses programs and funding on research into treatment and public education (over one-third do), while those with lower education and income are more likely to not know where the current emphasis is (over half do not know). Those with higher education and income are also more likely to indicate that the government should focus its attention in these two areas (research into treatment and public education).
   
• Youth are more likely to believe that public education is a current federal government focus (36 per cent do).
   
• Men and those who are Canadian born are more likely to believe that research into treatment is a current government focus (31 and 29 per cent, respectively). Those who know someone with HIV/AIDS, with high actual knowledge and high comfort with HIV/AIDS more often identify research into treatment and public education as current federal government focuses. Those with high actual knowledge and high comfort levels are also more likely to identify research into treatment and public education as areas which should receive federal government attention (37 and 39 per cent think research into treatment should be a focus, and 58 and 57 per cent think public education should be).
   
• Seniors citizens are less likely to indicate that the federal government should focus on finding a cure/vaccine (15 per cent do) or research into treatment (25 per cent do).

So, high education and income individuals, those with high actual knowledge and comfort with HIV/AIDS and people who know someone with the disease are more apt to believe that the government currently focuses on both research into treatment and public education. Youth are more likely to identify public education as the focus, while men and Canadian-born are more apt to identify research into treatment. Those with higher education and income, higher actual knowledge and comfort levels are more likely to identify both treatment research and public education as areas that should receive federal attention, while seniors are less likely to think that the focus should be on finding a cure/vaccine or research into treatment.

Canadians were then asked to choose between various potential federal government priorities with respect to HIV/AIDS. First, they were asked to choose between whether the federal government should place more emphasis on the treatment of people with HIV/AIDS or on preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS. Prevention is identified as the highest priority by over half (58 per cent), while roughly one-quarter (24 per cent) believe both priorities should receive equal emphasis, and 15 per cent think the focus should be on treatment.

Canadians were divided when asked to choose between placing emphasis on research or public education in terms of federal government programs and funding. Four in ten (40 per cent) believe the emphasis should be on public education, while one in three (33 per cent) believe it should be on research, and one-quarter feel equal emphasis should be placed on both.

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• The youngest Canadians (under 25) are more likely to believe that the focus should be on prevention (68 per cent do).
   
• Those less likely to distance themselves from the issue are more likely to believe that the focus should be on treatment. (20 per cent do).

Over half of Canadians (58 per cent) believe that the federal government should focus its HIV/AIDS-related programs and funding nationally, while three in ten (30 per cent) believe the focus should be international, and only nine per cent believe that there should be equal emphasis on the national and international scale.

Finally, just over half (52 per cent) of Canadians believe that the federal government should target all Canadians with its programs and funding, while one in three (36 per cent) believe the focus should be targeted on high risk populations, and one in ten (10 per cent) feel there should be an equal focus on both.

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• Residents of Quebec (39 per cent), youth (39 per cent), and those with low education and income (35 per cent) are all more likely to believe that the federal focus should be international.
   
• Senior citizens (49 per cent), those with a low level of comfort with HIV/AIDS (46 per cent), and individuals who are likely to distance themselves from the issue (43 per cent) are more likely to believe that the federal government should focus its efforts on at-risk populations.

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