Re: Sexual abstinence only programmes to prevent HIV infection in
high income countries: systematic review, 4 August 2007, BMJ
2007;335:248-52.
Evidence-based and translational medicine--the idea that health
care delivery should incorporate best practices culled from medical
literature--is the current rage in the U.S. health care system. This
"bench to bedside" model operates on a basic principle: that
discoveries made in the scientific research arena should be quickly
applied to the everyday practice of medicine, allowing the benefits of
those findings to be felt as early as possible.
In theory, the United States' health care policy, whether domestic
or international in focus, also operates on this principle. When it comes
to U.S. efforts to address the global AIDS pandemic, however, we all too
often ignore science in the name of ideology.
The Bush administration has made considerable progress in the war on
AIDS through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR),
domestic programs and support of the Global Fund. By requiring one-third
of all spending on AIDS prevention to go toward the promotion of
abstinence-only educational programming, however, the administration puts
valuable resources toward initiatives that are proven to be ineffective in
industrialized and developing countries alike, as indicated by the results
of the Underhill study.
President Bush should take a page out of our national health care
primer when developing future plans to combat AIDS, focusing on evidence-
based prevention programs (such as needle exhange programs and condom
distribution) that have a proven track record of success. For all the
current outcry on the state of American health care, relying on the
evidence is one example of where we're doing something right.
Ali Khan
Richmond, Va.
Third-year medical student, Virginia Commonwealth University School of
Medicine
Member, National Student Advisory Board, Physicians for Human Rights
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
16 August 2007
Ali M. Khan
Medical Student
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA 23298 USA
Rapid Response:
The Evidence Speaks for Itself
To the Editor:
Re: Sexual abstinence only programmes to prevent HIV infection in
high income countries: systematic review, 4 August 2007, BMJ
2007;335:248-52.
Evidence-based and translational medicine--the idea that health
care delivery should incorporate best practices culled from medical
literature--is the current rage in the U.S. health care system. This
"bench to bedside" model operates on a basic principle: that
discoveries made in the scientific research arena should be quickly
applied to the everyday practice of medicine, allowing the benefits of
those findings to be felt as early as possible.
In theory, the United States' health care policy, whether domestic
or international in focus, also operates on this principle. When it comes
to U.S. efforts to address the global AIDS pandemic, however, we all too
often ignore science in the name of ideology.
The Bush administration has made considerable progress in the war on
AIDS through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR),
domestic programs and support of the Global Fund. By requiring one-third
of all spending on AIDS prevention to go toward the promotion of
abstinence-only educational programming, however, the administration puts
valuable resources toward initiatives that are proven to be ineffective in
industrialized and developing countries alike, as indicated by the results
of the Underhill study.
President Bush should take a page out of our national health care
primer when developing future plans to combat AIDS, focusing on evidence-
based prevention programs (such as needle exhange programs and condom
distribution) that have a proven track record of success. For all the
current outcry on the state of American health care, relying on the
evidence is one example of where we're doing something right.
Ali Khan
Richmond, Va.
Third-year medical student, Virginia Commonwealth University School of
Medicine
Member, National Student Advisory Board, Physicians for Human Rights
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests