How laws affect people's willingness to get tested and treated for infectious diseases
Perceived Laws and Infectious Disease Control Measures
This project explores whether worries about laws change whether people at risk for HIV and similar infections get tested, engage in contact tracing, or seek care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Medical College of Wisconsin NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Milwaukee, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11090390 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You may be asked about your knowledge of and concerns about laws and whether those concerns affect your choices to get tested, share contacts, or start treatment. The team will gather information from surveys and interviews and link that with analysis of relevant laws and public messages. They build on earlier work showing legal worries can keep people from using HIV prevention and related services. The goal is to learn how laws and perceptions of laws shape participation in population-level disease control efforts.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are people at risk for HIV or other infectious diseases, community members affected by public health outreach, and people who have experience with testing, contact tracing, or treatment services.
Not a fit: People with no contact with public health services or whose decisions are driven entirely by other barriers (for example, access or cost) may not see direct benefit from this research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could lead to clearer laws and public messaging that make people more comfortable getting tested and treated, reducing disease spread.
How similar studies have performed: Previous individual-level studies by the team and others have shown that legal concerns can reduce use of HIV-related services, but applying this work to large-scale disease control efforts is newer.
Where this research is happening
Milwaukee, United States
- Medical College of Wisconsin — Milwaukee, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Galletly, Carol L — Medical College of Wisconsin
- Study coordinator: Galletly, Carol L
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.