TAKING CARE IN EDINBURGH – AIDS EDUCATION – 1983-1994
Abstract
Much of the historiography surrounding the policy response to HIV/AIDS has
focussed on the national or international picture. My paper provides a much-needed
local perspective by outlining the dynamics of policy-making in Edinburgh – the socalled ‘AIDS Capital of Europe’ – during the period 1983-94. Particular attention is
given to AIDS education policy as a means of furnishing new insights into the policymaking process and the interaction between the local and central state. The evidence
shows that Edinburgh’s response to AIDS/HIV was shaped by local factors such as
the legacy of previous responses to diseases, the distinctive drug-related epidemiology
of HIV in the City, and the particular configuration of local pressure groups and civic
authority. It was also heavily influenced by a number of distinctively Scottish factors,
including Scotland’s religious, political and health education structures, its blood
transfusion service and clinical input.
Helen Coyle
School of History, Classics and Archaeology
University of Edinburgh
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