 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Yvonne Owens Ferguson, MPH, Dept. of Health Behavior and Health Education, Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 700-701 Laurel Springs Drive, Durham, NC 27713, 919-806-5603, Yvonne_Ferguson@unc.edu, Olive Shisana, ScD, Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and Health, Human Science Resource Council, Private Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa, Efua Dorkenoo, OBE, Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and Health, Human Sciences Research Council, Private Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa, and Collins O. Airhihenbuwa, MPH, PhD, Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Penn State University, 304 Health and Human Development, University Park, PA 16802.
Many public health researchers, practitioners, activists and international health organizations have identified stigma and discrimination as two important determinants of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in South Africa. However, no published studies to date have qualitatively investigated the HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discriminatory attitudes or the HIV/AIDS prevention strategies that exist among the Xhosa and Colored communities in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. As part of the South African National HIV Prevalence, Behavioral Risks and Mass Media Household Survey, we conducted a secondary analysis of four focus groups to understand the context of these attitudes and prevention strategies among rural Xhosa and urban Coloured participants. Using Atlas.ti, a qualitative software package, we coded and analyzed the transcribed and translated focus group data by gender and racial/ethnic group. We found that in both racial/ethnic groups, female participants displayed more positive attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS than males. Xhosa male and Coloured female participants offered strategies to decrease stigma and discrimination within their communities, including more HIV/AIDS education targeting youth and rural areas. Findings have implications for HIV/AIDS program development in South Africa and current international HIV/AIDS campaigns focusing on HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, International Public Health
Awards: Excellence in Abstract Submission on an International Topic--Award Winner - Honorable Mention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.