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Click a topic below for an index of articles: Alternative-Treatments Financial or Socio-Economic Issues Math Models or Methods to Predict Trends Religion and infectious diseases Stigma or Discrimination Issues
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HIV/AIDS Issues & StigmaStigmatization can cause
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A new addition to the HEART is our Forum-check it out |
"As the United States enters the second decade of the AIDS epidemic, attitudes and beliefs concerning HIV-disease will play an increasingly important role in shaping societal response. Americans will be called upon to bear the epidemic's considerable economic costs and, increasingly, to respond individually to persons with AIDS in their schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, and families. AIDS-related initiatives and referenda will appear with greater frequency on electoral ballots, and AIDS-related policies will be included in candidates' campaign platforms. Consequently, understanding public reactions will be critically important for educating Americans about the epidemic, promoting enlightened public policy, and fostering compassion for persons infected with HIV.
Public attitudes surrounding AIDS are shaped by the complex characteristics of the epidemic. AIDS is a transmissible and, to date, lethal disease; personal reactions to it inevitably are influenced by concerns about individuals' own well-being and that of their loved ones. AIDS also is a highly stigmatized illness. Many persons perceived to be infected with HIV have been fired from their jobs, driven from their homes and socially isolated (Herek, 1990; Herek & Glunt, 1988). This stigma results both from the physical characteristics of AIDS (e.g., its negative effect on physical appearance and ability for social interaction; its communicability; its perceived lethality) and its psychosocial characteristics (i.e., its prevalence among such already-stigmatized groups as gay men, IV-drug users, Blacks, and Hispanics). In particular, attitudes toward gay men appear to exert an important influence on reactions to AIDS (e.g., Herek, 1990; Pryor, Reeder, & Vinacco, 1989; Stipp & Kerr, 1989;)." AIDS-RELATED ATTITUDES IN THE UNITED STATES: A PRELIMINARY CONCEPTUALIZATION
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES:
| Document Name & Link to Document | Description | File Size /pdf |
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Gives methods to reduce stigma/discrimination |
Pdf 66 kb |
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A Call For Community: Two Papers on HIV and AIDS Related Stigma in Africa
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It is widely recognized that HIV/AIDS-related stigma is both widespread and a significant obstacle to the provision of effective care and prevention measures. Beyond that statement, however, little is certain in terms of how pervasive HIV/AIDS-related stigma is, what its causes are, what forms it takes and what steps can be taken to reduce or eliminate it in the many different settings in which it occurs. Indeed, it is possible that the word stigma itself is inappropriate or does not cover the full range of negative actions and attitudes that may be directed towards people living with HIV/AIDS or are otherwise identified with the disease. | Pdf 486 kb | ||
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A conceptual framework and basis for action: HIV/AIDS stigma & discrimination |
Stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS are the greatest barriers to preventing further infections, providing adequate care, support and treatment and alleviating impact. HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination are universal, occurring in every country and region of the world. They are triggered by many forces, including lack of understanding of the disease, myths about how HIV is transmitted, prejudice, lack of treatment, irresponsible media reporting on the epidemic, the fact that AIDS is incurable, social fears about sexuality, feats relating to illness and death, and fears about illicit drugs and injecting drug use |
Pdf 346 kb |
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A Profile of the Stigma and Discrimination faced by People Living with HIV/AIDS
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HIV/AIDS leaves people both physically and emotionally vulnerable: physically, because their immune systems are fighting a difficult battle, and emotionally because of the threat of death, and the stigma and discrimination attached to a condition that is associated with sex, sex work, and injection drugs. As a result, people living with HIV/AIDS are sometimes forced out of their homes and jobs. They can be rejected by families and friends. Often, they are accused of being personally responsible for their situation. As a consequence of the notion that particular social groups and sectors are more vulnerable to HIV than others (e.g., those who sell sex, men who have sex with other men, and those who inject drugs), people already on the margins of society encounter greater hostility and face further stigma and discrimination. | Pdf 262 kb | ||
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A review of the Knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of university students concerning HIV/AIDS |
Based on the findings of such studies, health promotions should be planned, implemented and continuously evaluated, updated and changed. This indicates that health promotion is one of the areas where social science theory, research and practice have to be intertwined on an ongoing basis in order to be effective |
125 kb pdf |
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HIV/AIDS related discrimination and stigma in South Asia: A violation of human rights |
133 kb pdf |
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| Addressing Stigma in Implementing HIV/AIDS | Unless stigma is addressed, effective implementation of an HIV/AIDS policy is impossible. This paper describes the experience of ACORD Uganda in their efforts to implement an effective workplace policy. It focuses in particular on the importance of addressing stigma within the organisation - both as an objective of the policy itself and as a prerequisite of its effective implementation. | Pdf 257 kb | ||
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We also recognize that stigma—characterized by silence, fear, discrimination and denial—fuels the spread of HIV/AIDS. It undermines prevention, care and support; it also increases the impact of the epidemic on individuals, families, communities and nations |
Pdf 516 kb |
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AIDS: Stigmatize or Show Mercy?
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40,000,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS today, of which 3,000,000 are children under the age of 15. A particularly troubling consequence of the deadly disease is the number of orphaned children that has resulted. Today, more than 13 million children, most of who live in sub-Saharan Africa, have lost one or both parents to AIDS. By the year 2010, it is estimated that this number will jump to more than 25 million. In a world that harvests more than 40,000 refugees as a result of wars, civil strife, floods, earthquakes and destitution, AIDS also forms a formidable enemy. | |||
| AIDS Action testing | An AIDS awareness counselor recently summed up her experience of society's response to AIDS: 'I believe that, although AIDS is a new disease, it is laying bare all the old prejudices and political injustices that already exist.' One area where this is most apparent is the misuse of testing for HIV infection. | |||
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| AIDS AND AFRICA: A CASE OF RACISM VS SCIENCE? | Western scientists have promoted the hypothesis that the AIDS epidemic began in Africa, arguing that either AIDS had existed for many years in an African "lost tribe" or that a retrovirus crossed the species barrier from monkey to man. The scientific evidence in support of this hypothesis has included AIDS-like cases from Africa that predated the epidemic in the West, seroepidemiological evidence for early African infection, and the isolation of retroviruses from African monkeys considered similar to the human immunodeficiency virus. Yet when the scientific literature supporting an African origin is examined it is found to be contradictory, insubstantial or unsound, whilst the possibility that AIDS was introduced to Africa from the West has not been seriously investigated. | |||
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The Resolution noted that HIV/AIDS represents a real threat to ILO’s primary objective and in particular its legitimate concern to protect the rights of working men and women affected by the epidemic. It also recognized that the ILO’s core mandate, tripartite structure and decent work agenda give it the right, the responsibility and the means to respond effectively to the epidemic |
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This article briefly reviews current knowledge about AIDS-related stigma, defined as prejudice, discounting, discrediting, and discrimination directed at people perceived to have AIDS or HIV, and the individuals, groups, and communities with which they are associated. AIDS stigma has been manifested in discrimination, violence, and personal rejection of people with AIDS |
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The following pages report exact wording for some of the items used in a 1999 national telephone survey on AIDS and stigma. |
104 kb pdf |
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Providing practical help may not be part of the typical job description of a medical student, but the experience of serving people in this way was personally invaluable. Often what I perceived a patient's needs to be and what they were asking me to do were two different things |
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Man with disease banned from using pool at mobile home park |
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Culture embodies the values, attitudes, beliefs and practices of a group as well as its roles and structures, communication styles, technology, art, and artifacts. The numbers of reported cases of AIDS/HIV disease are dramatically increasing in some ethnic and minority groups. |
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The number of children orphaned by Aids will almost double to 25m by the end of the decade, experts predict. |
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AIDS related stigma possesses a variety of negative consequences for the individual who is HIV positive, as well as uninfected individuals or people who do not know if they are HIV positive or HIV negative. |
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AIDS-Related Stigma and Social Interaction: Puerto Ricans Living With HIV/AIDS
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People living with HIV/AIDS are stigmatized. Although personal and social consequences of this stigmatization have been documented, research regarding its impact on social interactions is scarce. Latinos, and Puerto Ricans in particular, have voiced concern regarding AIDS stigma. The authors investigated the key role of social interaction in the process of stigmatization through in-depth, semistructured interviews in a sample of 30 Puerto Ricans living with HIV/AIDS. Participants reported instances in which AIDS stigma negatively influenced social interactions with family, friends, sexual partners, coworkers, and health professionals. Some of the consequences they described were loss of social support, persecution, isolation, job loss, and problems accessing health services. Findings support the need for interventions to address AIDS stigma and its consequences. | Pdf 121 kb | ||
AIDS Retains Stigma in Eastern Europe
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After officially denying the existence of AIDS during the communist years, Romania now requires AIDS tests for people getting married or applying for jobs _ a rule activists say perpetuates discrimination. Health experts warn that infection rates in Eastern Europe will skyrocket if countries fail to adopt more pragmatic policies. | |||
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Presentation |
133 kb pdf |
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Death Certificate Data from the National Center for Health Statistics |
375 kb pdf |
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Graphs and tables |
379 kb pdf |
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The Article begins with a discussion of the right to privacy, search and seizure, and race as they are emerging in an AIDS workplace context. It then explores AIDS discrimination protections and public health efforts to combat AIDS |
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AIDS/HIV IN SIERRA LEONE: THE KILLER IS ALREADY IN OUR MIDST |
At last, we can openly discuss it. HIV/AIDS is no longer a taboo subject in Sierra Leone. There are believed to be tens of thousands of our citizens carrying the HIV/AIDS infection |
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This paper presents outline accounts of some social and economic features of the HIV/AIDS epidemics in five countries |
Pdf 71 kb |
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AIDS-RELATED ATTITUDES IN THE UNITED STATES: A PRELIMINARY CONCEPTUALIZATION |
This paper offers a preliminary conceptualization of the psychological structure of AIDS-related attitudes among American adults and describes some of the social and psychological factors that affect those attitudes. |
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The primary goal of this study is to examine and determine factors influencing stigmatization and discrimination among adolescents towards people living with HIV/AIDS in Botswana |
Pdf 75 kb |
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Stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS are the greatest barriers to preventing further infections, providing adequate care, support and treatment and alleviating impact HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination are universal occurring in every country and region of the world |
Pdf 304 kb |
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More than two decades into the HIV/AIDS epidemic, stigma and discrimination against people who have HIV/AIDS (PLWH) or are affected by HIV continue unabated. Although the global pandemic has shown itself capable of triggering responses of compassion, solidarity and support, bringing out the best in people, their families and communities yet stigma and ostracism, repression and discrimination continue to be reported in both the rich developed and poor developing countries of the world. |
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| An Intervention to Reduce HIV-Related Stigma Among African American Communities in South Carolina | Power Point Presentation | 735 kb | ||
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The potential of anti-discrimination law and policy to do that for people living with HIV in the UK exists, but is seriously hampered by the complexity and inconsistency with which UK law seeks to promote equality and address discrimination |
261 kb pdf |
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We’ve put together some simple, easy suggestions of things you can do to get more actively involved in this campaign |
260 kb pdf |
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Attitudes of General Practitioners Toward Homosexuals in the Netherlands Antilles |
Power Point Presentation |
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HIV disease presents profound challenges to primary caregivers including adjusting to the care recipient's disease progression, having increasing responsibilities for decision making as the disease progresses, responding to unexpected improvement, having to deal with a virtually uncontrollable disease, and managing role conflict and fatigue. |
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Pervasive stigma has surrounded HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the pandemic. In Southeast Asia, as elsewhere, it has accompanied by discrimination, affecting transmission patterns and access to care and support |
Pdf 146 kb |
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Changing the Stigma of and Levels of Awareness for Hepatitis and HIV/AIDS |
Many people believe that there are just a few ways to acquire either of these diseases and that they occur due to specific life-style behaviors. This is why, in constructing the survey we attempted to reveal the possibility of other sources in lieu of basic blood-to-blood or sexual preferences. |
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Comparison of data between India and Uganda |
Pdf 209 kb |
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Treatment should lead to more, rather than less, talk of prevention. The availability of treatment reduces the disease's stigma, making it easier for people to discuss AIDS and be receptive to messages of prevention. Where AIDS is always fatal, on the other hand, it is shrouded in denial. |
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In response to these criticisms, we define stigma as the co-occurrence of its components–labeling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination–and further indicate that for stigmatization to occur, power must be exercised. The stigma concept we construct has implications for understanding several core issues in stigma research, ranging from the definition of the concept to the reasons stigma sometimes represents a very persistent predicament in the lives of persons affected by it. |
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In response to these criticisms, we define stigma as the co-occurrence of its components–labeling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination–and further indicate that for stigmatization to occur, power must be exercised. The stigma concept we construct has implications for understanding several core issues in stigma research, ranging from the definition of the concept to the reasons stigma sometimes represents a very persistent predicament in the lives of persons affected by it. |
213 kb pdf |
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The impact of stigma on the affected individual can lead to feelings of depression, guilt and shame, as well as to behavior that limits participation within communities and access to services intended to assist them. Additionally, the fear of being stigmatized can lead to individual behavior that heightens the risk of transmission. |
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| Courts Perpetuating AIDS Stereotypes, Study Indicates | The study, which examined the cumulative total of all AIDS-related litigation since the epidemic began in 1981, was released by the AIDS Litigation Project, which was established three years ago to help lawyers, health care providers and consumers understand the evolution of laws regarding the rights of people with AIDS or those infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. It is funded by the AIDS program office of the Department of Health and Human Services. | |||
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Since many people associate HIV infection with illicit behaviors such as promiscuous sex, homosexual contact, or intravenous drug use, personal disclosure of HIV status often carries a social stigma that can lead to emotional distress, depression, and isolation. |
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Sixty percent had disclosed their HIV status to all sexual partners. Of the 40% who had not disclosed, half had not disclosed to their one and only partner. Among patients who did not disclose, 57% used condoms less than all the time. |
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Disentangling HIV and AIDS Stigma in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia |
This project, conducted from April 2001 to September 2003, unraveled the complexities around stigma by investigating the causes, manifestations and consequences of HIV and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in sub-Saharan Africa. |
1134 kb pdf |
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Early detection of HIV has important implications for both prevention and treatment. Promoting HIV testing, and thereby early detection, however, is a complicated task that must balance the interests of public health, personal privacy, and legislative efforts to curb transmission. This article assesses the legislative context within which public health officials must operate to promote early HIV identification |
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To determine the short-term effect of a middle and high school-based human immunodeficiency virus and sexuality intervention (Rochester AIDS Prevention Project for Youth RAPP]) on knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavior intention |
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I am opposed to any form to foreign Aid - not only because I think it does not serve any real purpose; but because the little that gets into any of the targeted countries doesn't get to those who should have benefited from such aid |
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ECUMENICAL HIV/AIDS POSTER –FIGHTING HIV/AIDS-RELATED STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION |
HIV is not a virus that happens to "someone else" or to other
communities - it is present everywhere in the world, including
the United States. Stigma and discrimination contribute to the
spread of HIV and compound the suffering of those who are living
with HIV and their loved ones. Silence about HIV/AIDS
has perpetuated ignorance about the facts, risky behavior
and death
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We do not have to look far to find evidence of the very real pain suffered by those people - both adults and children - who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS as a result of stigmatization and discrimination at a variety of levels |
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HIV/AIDS related discrimination in employment occurs at all stages of the employment relationship: practices include pre-employment HIV testing, denial of employment to people who test positive, dismissal, pressure to resign, and harassment |
220 kb pdf |
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Fear of certain death seems to account for the greater concern about exposure to HIV than to Hepatitis B. |
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Historically, gay men and lesbians have suffered persistent patterns of discrimination and persecution (A History of Discrimination). It then shows how the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been accompanied by a second epidemic, an epidemic of stigma and discrimination against those living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, and how the appearance of HIV/AIDS has consolidated prejudices about homosexuality and intensified and extended discrimination against gay men, usually based on assumptions like "All gay men have AIDS and are infectious" or "Gay men are to blame for AIDS." |
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HIV/AIDS is now widespread in much of the developing world. Because it results in exceptional levels of illness and death in the mature adult population it has many social and economic implications |
Pdf 193 kb |
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Guidelines for preparation and execution of studies of the social and economic impact of HIV/AIDS |
Macroeconomic research issues: There seems to be a consensus that accurate effects at the macroeconomic level are difficult to ascertain. |
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High prevalence of HIV infection among youth in a South African mining town |
In this study published in AIDS, the authors found an extremely high prevalence of HIV among young women (34%) and men (9%) aged 14-24 years from a township in the Carletonville district of South Africa. HIV prevalence among women aged 24 was 66%, one of the highest rates ever reported in a general population. |
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| HIV/AIDS Stigma and Discrimination: A Kerala Experience | It goes without saying that HIV/AIDS is as much about social phenomena as it is about biological and medical concerns. Across the world, the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS has shown itself capable of triggering responses of compassion, solidarity and support, bringing out the best in people, their families and communities. But the disease is also associated with Stigma, ostracism, repression and discrimination as HIV affected individuals have been rejected by their families, their loved ones and their communities. | Pdf 43 kb | ||
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HIV & AIDS Discrimination and Stigma
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From the moment scientists identified HIV and AIDS, social responses of fear, denial, stigma and discrimination have accompanied the epidemic. Discrimination has spread rapidly, fuelling anxiety and prejudice against the groups most affected, as well as those living with HIV or AIDS. It goes without saying that HIV and AIDS are as much about social phenomena as they are about biological and medical concerns. Across the world the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS has shown itself capable of triggering responses of compassion, solidarity and support, bringing out the best in people, their families and communities. But the disease is also associated with stigma, repression and discrimination, as individuals affected (or believed to be affected) by HIV have been rejected by their families, their loved ones and their communities. | |||
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Discrimination adds to the daily struggles faced by the growing number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States—people who are predominantly poor and disproportionately African American or Latino/a. Almost every agency told us that the biggest problems facing their clients involve meeting basic needs—coping with poverty, hunger, illiteracy, inadequate medical care, lack of transportation, and homelessness. |
271 kb pdf |
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Since the beginning of the epidemic in the mid 1980s, civil society and AIDS support organisations in developing countries have struggled to make their voice heard internationally. |
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Presentation by Barry Bloom, Harvard School of Public Health concerning HIV/AIDS. AIDS around the world with comparison with the Black Death during the Middle Ages and what is happening now as compared to what occurred then. |
1894 kb pdf |
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| HIV/AIDS Stigma and Discrimination: Prisoners | The low social status of prisoners means that they are marginalized and excluded from the mainstream of society. They experience stigma and discrimination behind bars and are often regarded as ‘unworthy’ in the general community | 219 kb pdf | ||
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The rejection of HIV/AIDS stigma is based on the understanding that all acts of social exclusion relating to HIV/AIDS are not only morally wrong but also counterproductive to effective HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment |
191 kb pdf |
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Research studies
from Uganda and India. Discrimination has spread rapidly fueling
anxiety and prejudice against groups most affected as well as those
living with HIV/ |
198 kb pdf |
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Health professionals, including medical students, have to learn to face and fight HIV and AIDS and deal with its medical and psychosocial effects. In combating the disease and the stigma that surrounds it, education remains the best approach. |
539 kb pdf |
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The scope of reporting concerns what it is that has to be reported: AIDS, HIV infection and/or other symptoms of HIV/AIDS. Some jurisdictions require reporting only of AIDS, while others require reporting of AIDS and HIV and some require reporting of other symptoms of HIV/AIDS. |
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HIV/AIDS and Discrimination: A Discussion Paper
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The Joint Project on Legal and Ethical Issues Raised by HIV/AIDS of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the Canadian AIDS Society released a discussion paper on HIV/AIDS and discrimination in 1998. The paper shows that, more than 15 years after the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, stigma and discrimination remain pervasive in the lives of people with HIV/AIDS and populations affected by HIV/AIDS. In addition, it documents the impact of stigma and discrimination on the health and well-being of people with HIV/AIDS and populations affected by HIV/AIDS, and recommends basic elements of a concerted effort to prevent, redress, and eliminate HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. |
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Incidences of new infections over a given period of time |
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