A History of AIDS Social Work in Hospitals presents first-hand historical perspectives from hospital social workers who cared for HIV/AIDS patients during the epidemic's beginning in the early 1980s. Contributors recount personal and clinical experiences with patients, families, significant others, bureaucracies, and systems during a time of fear, challenge, and extreme caution. Their experiences illustrate the transformation of social work as the development of new programmes and treatments increased the lifespan of HIV/AIDS patients. A History of AIDS Social Work in Hospitals presents case studies and examines the history of responses to the AIDS crisis. The book also explores the benefits of developing custody planning programs for HIV-infected families and the challenges of working with perinatally infected adolescents. The book provides an easy-to-understand medical overview of adult and paediatric infectious diseases that often accompany HIV/AIDS and examines: the evolution of social work with hospitalised patients during the first twenty years of the pandemic; challenges that resulted from improved medications and longer life expectancy; the status of current HIV/AIDS care programmes; the development of HIV/AIDS case management in emergency room settings. This is a valuable book for educators, students, historians, beginning mental health practitioners, social workers, case managers, and substance abuse counsellors.