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45 Loy. L. A. L. Rev. 909 (2011-2012)
HIV Discrimination in Dental Care: Results of a Testing Study in Los Angeles County

handle is hein.journals/lla45 and id is 931 raw text is: HIV DISCRIMINATION IN DENTAL CARE: RESULTS OF A TESTING STUDY IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY Brad Sears, Christian Cooper, Fariba S. Younai & Tom Donohoe* Thirty years after HIV was first identified, for the majority of those infected in the United States, effective combination therapies to combat HIV have turned the disease into a manageable chronic condition. But HIV discrimination has still proven intractable in the field of health care. For example, a series of studies has revealed that 46 percent of skilled nursing facilities, 55 percent of OB/GYNs, and 26 percent of plastic surgeons in Los Angeles County refuse to provide services to any HIV-positive patient, in violation of state and federal law. This Study examines HIV discrimination among dentists in Los Angeles County. For people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), dental care is particularly important because problems in the mouth may be the first symptoms of an HIV infection and can also signify disease progression; routine, proper dental care can have a significant impact on oral and general health. This Study reveals that 5 percent of dentists * Brad Sears is Executive Director & Roberta A. Conroy Senior Scholar of Law and Policy, Williams Institute; Assistant Dean, UCLA School of Law. Christian Cooper is Staff Attorney, Public Counsel Law Center. Fariba S. Younai is Professor of Clinical Sciences & Vice Chair, Division of Oral Biology and Medicine, UCLA School of Dentistry. Tom Donohoe is Associate Professor of Family Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Director, UCLA/Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center, Associate Director, UCLA Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. The Authors would like to thank M.V. Lee Badgett, Gary J. Gates, Roseann Mulligan, and Nancy Warren for their thoughtful reviews and feedback on this study, as well as Williams Institute fellows Blanca Corea, Deborah Ho, Craig Konnoth, and Christy Mallory for contributing countless hours to conducting this study and related research. This Study was made possible through the generous support of the Macy's Passport Fund, the Williams Institute, and the UCLA/Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center (PAETC) at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. An earlier version of this Study previously appeared on the Williams Institute website. BRAD SEARS ET AL., HIV DISCRIMINATION IN DENTAL CARE: RESULTS OF A DISCRIMINATION TESTING STUDY IN Los ANGELES COUNTY (2011), available at http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/ Sears-HIV-Discrimination-Dental-Care-Dec-201 l.pdf. This Study departs from the conventions of this law review at the request of the Authors. 909