AIDS Study Calls for More Research on Role of Behavior

It may be years before scientists develop an effective vaccine against the virus that causes AIDS and more focus is needed on changing behavior that can spread the disease, a study said Wednesday.

The study by a committee of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences urged more research into the kinds of behavior--sexual practices and illegal drug use, for example--that can spread the deadly AIDS virus. It complained that social science research was the most underfunded of all AIDS research activities.

“The absence of information about the actual sexual behaviors in which people are engaging has hampered AIDS prevention efforts,” the committee said. It called for a national survey of sexual behavior and for lifting a ban on the use of federal money for needle exchange programs.