Abstract
ABSTRACTHIV/AIDS stigmatizing behaviors are a huge barrier to early detection and treatment of individuals with the AIDS virus. HIV/AIDS stigma and related consequences are debilitating, especially for vulnerable populations. This study sought to assess whether young women’s HIV/AIDS knowledge levels and exposure to mass media (television and radio) have an influence on their stigmatizing behaviors and role as agents of stigma towards individuals living with HIV and AIDS. The data used for this study originated from the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2011. Binary and multiple (stepwise) logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between HIV/AIDS knowledge, frequency of exposure to mass media, and HIV/AIDS stigmatizing behaviors among young women aged 15–24 years in Ghana. Of the 3573 young women, 80% of 15–19-year-olds and 76% of 20–24-year-olds had at least one stigmatizing behavior towards persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). Young women with increased knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS and frequent exposure to mass media (television and radio) had lesser tendency to stigmatize or act as agents of stigma towards PLHA (proportion with at least one stigmatizing behavior per subgroup – HIV/AIDS knowledge: those with highest knowledge score 579 [70.1%], those with lowest knowledge score 28 [90.3%]; mass media: those with daily exposure 562 [73.4%], those not exposed at all 249 [89.2%]). There was a graded negative ‘exposure–response’ association between the ranked variables: HIV/AIDS knowledge, mass media, and HIV/AIDS stigmatizing behaviors. The significant inverse association between HIV/AIDS knowledge, frequency of exposure to mass media, and HIV/AIDS stigmatizing behaviors persisted even after adjusting for all other covariates in the multiple logistic regression models. It is extremely important to increase HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and reduce stigma among young women in Ghana through targeted HIV/AIDS factual knowledge transfer. The use of mass media for communication of issues regarding HIV/AIDS, its mode of transmission, and associated stigma should be emphasized among women in Ghana.
Highlights
Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for 71% of persons living with HIV and AIDS (PLHA)
About 1 out of 4 (23.5%) had the highest HIV/AIDS knowledge score whereas 0.9% scored 0
The findings that HIV/AIDS stigmatizing behaviors were reduced among young women with the highest HIV/AIDS knowledge are consistent with those from previous studies [16,19,26], showing that lack of factual knowledge about the mode of transmission of the AIDS virus and the corresponding myths associated with AIDS transmission contribute to the stigmatizing behaviors and discriminatory attitudes towards persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA)
Summary
Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for 71% of persons living with HIV and AIDS (PLHA). Young people are generally considered to be the most vulnerable group with regard to HIV/AIDS, as they become sexually active and engage in risky sexual behaviors including unprotected sexual intercourse [2,3]. The burden of HIV and AIDS among young people continues to be on the rise [4]. The prevalence of HIV and AIDS significantly dropped from 1.9% in 2013 to 1.6% in 2014 in Ghana [5], the proportion of infected women is higher than that of men, with cases among young women accounting for more than half of the prevalence in young people [5,6]
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