Abstract

Legislation through the AIDS Control Act (1987) required regional health boards in Scotland to account for their expenditure on HIV/AIDS services by 'ring-fencing' funding allocated for HIV health promotion. This aimed to ensure monies allocated for expenditure on HIV health promotion by health boards would be used for this purpose and not to finance other health board services. We analysed health board expenditure on HIV health promotion in relation to the incidence of HIV transmission for two Scottish health boards, Greater Glasgow and Lothian (the region in which the Scottish capital Edinburgh is situated). Lothian region which had a higher incidence of HIV transmission than Greater Glasgow similarly had a greater expenditure on HIV health promotion. However, for either health board there was no consistent increase in expenditure after HIV incidence increased. Likewise it was more often the exception than the norm for the incidence of HIV to decline after increased expenditure on HIV health promotion. While it is tentatively concluded that increased HIV health promotion expenditure did not apparently make a significant difference to the incidence of HIV in either health board, this ignores the effect of practical measures funded by the expenditure.