Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - Monday, July 12, 2004
Ploenpote Atthakor
As with many other international meetings, the IAC, which is drawing almost 20,000 participants, is known as a place where heaps of acronyms are churned out.
It seems anything can be reduced to a shorter form, be it a particular group of people, like MSM for "men who have sex with men", or a medical term, such as Haart for "highly active anti-retroviral therapy", or certain preventive practices, like ABC for "abstinence, being faithful, and condoms".
While some, like MSM, are catchy, others are simply puzzling, causing the clueless to rush to a reference source.
Every party plays a part in contributing a shorter version, scientists, experts and social workers alike, says Pensri Tasnavites of the UNAids in Bangkok. "Someone coins them, and others just adopt them later and they turn out to be a familiar term" she said.
Some, like Aids, are used wrongly, she said. "Aids is for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. It should be used with all capital letters or it can mean assistance. But people seem not to care" she added.
Most people agree the acronyms are meant for convenience. However, some terms tend to cause confusion when used with people who are not working in the field, particularly members of the press.
"There should be a glossary for these confusing terms," Ms Pensri said.
Nimit Tien-udom, director of the Access Foundation, said while the acronyms may be convenient for health-care workers, it's important to ensure others understand what they are talking about when they resort to jargon.
"Sometimes we just use this jargon without realising people might not have any idea about the issues. This jargon should be used with care," he said.
Confusion also reigns when "people living with HIV/Aids" are discussed, as this particular group is referred to by multiple acronyms, including PLWA, PWHA, PWA and PHA. "Thai activists are more familiar with PHA, but those from the US use PLWA. Like the Aids issue, nothing is final for this" he said.
Mr Nimit said acronyms do have the added benefit of protecting groups from embarrassment and discrimination.
"When we book a hotel under the name of PHA network, things go smoothly as hotel people have no idea what PHA is. It is much better than using the full term," he said.
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