Disease-related stigma: comparing predictors of AIDS and cancer stigma

This study explores the prevalence of AIDS and cancer stigma as influenced by attitude toward homosexuality, religiosity, authoritarianism, and androgyny. This study used a quasi-experimental survey design (N = 485) to examine attitude toward people with AIDS and cancer, and interaction with people with AIDS and cancer. Negative attitudes toward homosexuality, high religious intensity and ideology, high authoritarianism, and low expressive emerged as factors related to more negative attitudes toward people with AIDS and unwillingness to interact with people with AIDS. Attitudes toward people with cancer were generally not related to the variables. Findings explore how to campaign efforts to reduce existing negative attitudes toward AIDS and homosexuality, given that gay men with AIDS are especially stigmatized. Implications and directions for future research are discussed, especially for interventions.     

The important role of mass media in the diffusion of accurate information about AIDS.

This paper explores the vital role of mass media in diminishing the lack of consensus among those at risk for AIDS and those who treat them. It examines the perceptions of these groups with regard to the seriousness of the AIDS threat, what people at risk are really doing to protect themselves and others, and the accuracy and objectivity of media reports about AIDS. Results indicate that there is a disarming lack of consensus among those people who can do the most to influence the spread of AIDS. Results also indicate that those people at greatest risk for AIDS and for spreading the disease distrust the accuracy and objectivity of the media. The authors argue that consensus is required for a concerted fight on AIDS and that the mass media offer an effective avenue for encouraging it. They also explore methods for regaining media respect among high risk groups with regard to AIDS reporting.     

AIDS-phobia, contact with AIDS, and AIDS-related job stress in hospital workers

In a survey of 237 hospital workers involved in the care of AIDS patients at a major AIDS inpatient-care facility, negative attitudes toward AIDS and AIDS patients (AIDS-phobia) and AIDS-related job stress (AIDS-stress) were common. In multivariate analyses, AIDS-phobia is significantly higher among older staff, those having low contact with AIDS patients (AIDS-contact), and those holding homophobic attitudes. AIDS-phobic attitudes and low AIDS-contact can be interpreted as predicting each other. Finally, AIDS-stress is predicted by low contact with AIDS and AIDS-phobic attitudes.     

"But of course he is led by God": pastoral influence on an HIV/AIDS ministry

HIV/AIDS is spreading more rapidly in black communities than any other in the United States, with black women being 23 times more likely to become infected than any other subgroup in the country. Some African-American churches are becoming involved by creating HIV/AIDS ministries that cater to various needs of local populations. Through an examination of deictic markers, this article analyzes ideologies surrounding HIV/AIDS and the pastor's influence on the HIV/AIDS ministry at College Street Baptist Church.     

流动人口行为特征及其空间过程与HIV/AIDS扩散

流动人口的行为特征及其空间过程是HIV/AIDS扩散的重要因素之一,其行为特征的高危性和流动性使流动人口成为HIV/AIDS的易感人群,在其流动的空间过程中与不同类型人口的相互接触,当发生与HIV/AIDS人群的高危行为时,一方面容易使自己感染HIV;另一方面,流动人口成为HIV携带者后与其他人发生高危行为则会成为HIV的传染源之一,其结果是导致了HIV/AIDS在感染者数量和感染空间上的扩散。因而,针对流动人口高危行为特征及其空间过程提出防控HIV/AIDS扩散的对策是可行的。     

Demographic and Social Factors Associated with Homophobia and Fear of AIDS in a Community Sample

Examinations of demographic and social factors associated with homophobia and fear of AIDS are limited by the frequent use of homogeneous, college student samples and limited examination of interrelationships among variables. The present study examined community attitudes toward homosexuality and fear of HIV/AIDS as a function of age, education, race/ethnicity, religious affiliation, political party affiliation, and personal contact with homosexual individuals and persons living with HIV/AIDS. A community sample of 463 adults completed standardized measures of homophobia and fear of AIDS as well as demographic and social background items. When examined separately, each demographic and social factor assessed, with the exception of race/ethnicity, was associated with homophobia and all but race/ethnicity and political party affiliation were associated with fear of AIDS. However, when entered into multiple regression analyses, 24% of the variance in homophobia was predicted by a single variable, including only personal contact with homosexual individuals, while 18% of the variance in fear of AIDS was accounted for by five variables, including personal contact with homosexual individuals, religious affiliation, political affiliation, education, and personal contact with someone living with HIV/AIDS. Findings suggest that it is important to consider intercorrelations among social and demographic factors, particularly when considering homophobia.     

The Effect on Elderly Parents in Cambodia of Losing an Adult Child to AIDS

Little systematic quantitative research is available on the parents of adults who become ill and die of AIDS despite their large number and the wide range of adverse consequences. This study, based on survey data from Cambodia, explores economic and social effects on parents in a country characterized by extreme poverty and a substantial AIDS epidemic. Results indicate that parents play a major role during the illness of an adult son or daughter, often sharing living quarters, providing care, and paying for illness‐related expenses. These contributions to the societal response to AIDS come at considerable cost to parents at advanced ages. Multivariate analysis suggests lasting negative consequences for parents’economic well‐being, and the consequences are more substantial if the adult child's death was from AIDS rather than from other causes. The study found little evidence of stigma associated with losing a grown child to AIDS: reactions from local community members are more likely to be sympathetic and supportive than negative. These results underscore the need for organizations dealing with AIDS to recognize the contributions older persons make in coping with the epidemic and to address the burden it imposes on them.     

Wild foods and household food security responses to AIDS: evidence from South Africa

Wild foods may offer unique benefits to households afflicted by AIDS, providing a nutritious and freely available food source at minimal labour and financial costs. This article presents the results of food security assessments in two rural South African sites. Detailed household dietary recalls from 227 households, combined with qualitative work, explored the association of household AIDS proxies (recent morbidity, mortality and orphan fostering) with household food security and dietary composition. The study found that AIDS-proxy households were significantly more food insecure, and households fostering orphans were both poorer and more food insecure. Wild foods were evident in 40.3% of the 48 h recalls, with significantly greater likelihood of use in households with fostering paternal orphans, and/or with at least one AIDS proxy. Only paternal orphans were significantly associated with likelihood of using wild foods when controlling for household socio-economic status. Qualitative data suggests that households afflicted by AIDS might curtail their use of wild foods due to household labour shortages and stigma. This is unfortunate, as regressions indicate that households using wild foods may be more economically resilient. This may be particularly important for households registering AIDS proxies, due to a demonstrated negative correlation between accumulated household AIDS proxies and household income.     

Response of parents to learning that their child is homosexual and concern over AIDS: a national study

This study was a survey of 402 parents of gay and lesbian children from the northeastern, southern, midwestern, and western regions of the United States. Of particular interest was parental response to the knowledge of their child's homosexuality and the AIDS outbreak. Although parents suffered emotional upset upon learning of their children's homosexuality, many progressed through a five-stage grief process that ended with acceptance. Fear of the spread of AIDS, that their offspring might contract AIDS, or that their child might suffer from the backlash related to AIDS were concerns for most parents. Attitudes toward AIDS were not very different between mothers and fathers. However, older parents were more likely to have more positive attitudes toward AIDS than younger parents, and liberal parents were more likely to have a more positive outlook than their conservative counterparts.     

Gay men with AIDS: perceptions of social support and adaptational outcome

Using a multivariate design, this study examined social support as a mediating variable between the stressor of AIDS and adaptational outcome in a culturally and socioeconomically diverse sample of 60 urban gay men with AIDS. Whereas earlier studies have suggested that social support for gay men with AIDS is often lacking or ineffective, findings in this study indicated that family of origin and friends may provide more support to gay men with AIDS than has been generally recognized. Both family of origin and friend support were strongly correlated with positive outcomes, indicating that social support was not only forthcoming but was also effective. The relationship between family of origin support and positive outcomes was particularly strong.     

艾滋病流行对人口与社会经济的影响

艾滋病已逐渐成为当前迫切需要解决的全球性问题。艾滋病的扩散不仅影响着整个国家的社会和经济发展,而且对个人、家庭和社区均产生严重的后果。艾滋病对社会劳动力资源、人口预期寿命、社会稳定、卫生和社会体系和政府部门的工作都带来了威胁,并侵蚀经济和社会的发展成果,这表明艾滋病是一个涉及发展和人类安全的问题,必须予以高度重视。     

The stigma of AIDS: fear of disease and prejudice toward gay men

Three hundred college students were presented with vignettes describing an ill person; the vignettes were identical except the illness was identified as either AIDS or leukemia and the individual was described as either homosexual or heterosexual. After reading one vignette, each subject completed a set of measures sensitive to interpersonal evaluation, prejudicial attitudes, and willingness to interact casually with the portrayed individual. The findings indicate the presence of highly stigmatizing attitudes towards AIDS patients and suggest that the public views AIDS patients and gay persons with similar attitudinal prejudice. The need for greater attention to AIDS by social and behavioral researchers is discussed.     

No One Is Immune: A Community Education Partnership Addressing HIV/AIDS and Older Adults

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of new HIV diagnoses among people aged 50 to 64 in the United States, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in just 7 years (by 2015) 50% of those living with AIDS will be aged 50 or older. To address this public health concern, viable HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment options for individuals over the age of 50 are necessary. This article discusses the No One Is Immune initiative that planned, implemented, and coordinated evidence- based HIV/AIDS prevention and education programs specifically tailored for middle-aged and older adults. Guided by the health belief model, an educational conference entitled "Sexuality, Medication, and HIV/AIDS in Middle and Later Adulthood" was conducted along with research activities that assessed HIV/AIDS knowledge gained using both qualitative and quantitative measures. This project can be replicated by other providers within the aging network.     

预防艾滋病的知识、态度、行为状况的探讨

根据 2 0 0 0年末国家计生委关于预防艾滋病宣传教育的调查资料 ,文章从社会、文化、经济的视角 ,分析人们在预防艾滋病知识、态度方面的差别 ,从而提高我国预防艾滋病宣传教育计划的科学性 ,并促进未来对预防艾滋病资金的投入发挥更大效益。本文还指出习惯于计划生育采取长效措施的我国广大农村 ,应通过科技创新 ,解决“防艾”问题     

Tools and training strengthen African AIDS groups

Recent estimates indicate that AIDS has stricken approximately 21 million adults and children in sub-Saharan Africa. Many grassroots organizations were born during the early 1990s in response to the pandemic. Two Population Council researchers undertook four collaborative interventions to strengthen such organizations. Their efforts showed that providing simple, carefully chosen forms of technical assistance can greatly improve the ability of grassroots organizations to achieve their goals. Modest investments of time and expertise can yield considerable positive results. In Uganda, the National AIDS Control Program's Community Counseling Aides (CCA) Project sends trained volunteers to conduct AIDS education and provide basic nursing care. KIWAKKUKI, a women's group in Moshi, Tanzania, provides AIDS education and care for people affected by AIDS. In Ndola, Zambia, the INDENI Petroleum Refinery's HIV/AIDS Committee conducts educational activities, provides condoms and medical care, and addresses the needs of employees' families. In Lusaka, Zambia, the women of the KWASHA MUKWENU care for children orphaned by AIDS. Population Council interventions in each of these programs is described.     

Mitigating an elephantine epidemic: gendered space for HIV/AIDS outreach through Namibian conservancies

As the reach of HIV/AIDS continues to devastate communities and create potential pressures on natural resources, conservation organizations have increasingly become involved in education and outreach to address the disease. This paper’s purpose is to investigate how increasing HIV infection rates and AIDS deaths relate to community-based conservation and livelihood strategies in the Caprivi Region of northeastern Namibia, and demonstrate that conservation organizations can play a unique role in combating the disease. As the epidemic is more widespread in the Caprivi than in any other region of the country, local organizations such as Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC) are responding to the disease by integrating it into conservation work. IRDNC’s efforts reflect a particular focus on gender, including changes in the way that HIV/AIDS is discussed in local communities, strategies to promote access to testing and care, and bringing to light the experiences of individuals and families struggling with HIV/AIDS. This approach shows that there are benefits to be gained from approaching HIV/AIDS mitigation through familiar, existing structures such as those of community conservancies in Namibia—especially the ability to circumvent heavy local stigma. Using data collected through participant observation and participatory discussions, this paper demonstrates that conservation programs can positively affect people with HIV/AIDS, highlighting the importance of mainstreaming outreach efforts that address the particular localized manifestations of the disease in the context of natural resource management.     

HIV/AIDS,Social Capital,and Online Social Networks

The prospects for online social networks as sites of information-gathering and affiliation for persons with AIDS and others concerned about HIV/AIDS not only represent the latest development in a trend toward circumventing traditional media and official information sources, but also may offer hope for a revitalization of HIV/AIDS discourse in the public sphere. This article provides an overview of three decades of information-seeking on the pandemic and its social and personal implications, as well as case studies of three examples of social networking surrounding HIV/AIDS. It finds preliminary evidence of the formation of strong and weak ties as described in Social Network Theory and suggests that the online accumulation of social capital by opinion leaders could facilitate dissemination of messages on HIV/AIDS awareness and testing.     

中国老年艾滋病的流行状况分析

艾滋病在中国的迅速流行已是不争的事实,但是人们普遍认为“艾滋病是年轻人的病”。调查资料显示,50岁及以上的老年艾滋病病毒感染者报告人数已达到全国感染者的1/10,并呈快速增长趋势。老年感染人群的主要感染渠道以既往有偿献血感染为主。老年艾滋病病毒(HIV)感染者和艾滋病(AIDS)病人增多无论对家庭还是对社会均产生严重的后果,在艾滋病预防和控制战役中,老年是一个不可忽略的人群,应引起高度重视。     

Internalized Homophobia,HIV Knowledge,and HIV/AIDS Personal Responsibility Beliefs: Correlates of HIV/AIDS Discrimination among MSM in the Context of Institutionalized Stigma

ABSTRACT

There exists a paucity of research on the psychosocial risk factors of HIV/AIDS among men who have sex with men (MSM) in settings where they are stigmatized or face prosecution. The present study investigates discrimination against people living with HIV (PLHIV), internalized homophobia, HIV/AIDS personal responsibility beliefs and HIV knowledge in a purposive sample of 106 self-identified MSM obtained through a web-based survey disseminated by two voluntary welfare organizations. Results indicate that internalized homophobia is positively associated with discrimination against PLHIV. Internalized homophobia also substantially mediates the effect of HIV/AIDS personal responsibility beliefs on discrimination against PLHIV, highlighting the confounded nature of HIV/AIDS and homosexual stigma in a setting where stigma is deep-rooted and institutionalized. Internalized homophobia may thus serve as a barrier to the effectiveness of HIV prevention efforts among MSM in Singapore.     

艾滋病人口扩散的空间差异机制及其对策研究——以云南为例

通过分析1990到2004年云南省艾滋病地域空间的分布特点．得出云南省艾滋病流行扩散的空间差异机制。在此基础上指出需根据艾滋病流行状况的空间差异,在对艾滋病采取系统防治的基础上,对不同等级区域采取差异化的预防控制对策,提高艾滋病防治的针对性。