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Stigma Against People with HIV/AIDS in Rural Ethiopia, 2005 to 2011: Signs and Predictors of Improvement

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Abstract

This study sought to determine trends in and factors associated with stigma against people with HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. Rural data from the 2005 and 2011 Demographic and Health Surveys were analyzed. HIV testing rates among males increased dramatically from 2005 to 2011 (8–35 %). Among females, testing rates dropped 10 % during the same period. HIV knowledge was associated with stigma, shown by a negative correlation in both data waves, but groups with higher knowledge tended to have lower stigma. Lower levels of knowledge were uniformly associated with higher levels of stigma, but higher levels of knowledge, combined with higher levels of education, were associated with lower levels of stigma in a multiplicative way. Improvements in knowledge can serve as an important intermediate process to behavior change. The found interaction suggests improvements in either education or knowledge can reduce stigma, and when both are improved, stigma reduction will be more dramatic.

Resumen

Este estudio trata de determinar las tendencias y los factores asociados con la estigmatización de las personas con el VIH/SIDA en Etiopía. Datos de aéreas rurales obtenidos de las Encuestas Demográfica y de Salud del 2005 y 2011 fueron analizados para este estudio. Las tasas de pruebas de VIH entre hombres aumentó drásticamente entre el 2005 y el 2011 (8–35 %). Entre las mujeres, las tasas de pruebas del VIH tuvieron un descenso del 10 % en el mismo período. El conocimiento sobre el VIH se asoció con el estigma, que se muestra por una correlación negativa entre ambas ondas de datos, los grupos con mayor conocimiento tienden a tener menor estigma. Los niveles más bajos de conocimiento se asociaron de manera uniforme con mayores niveles de estigma y los niveles más altos de conocimiento, combinado con los niveles más altos de educación, se asociaron con menores niveles de estigma en un manera multiplicativa. Las mejorías en los conocimientos sobre el VIH pueden servir como un intermediario importante del proceso para el cambio de comportamiento. La interacción encontrada sugiere que mejoras en la educación o el conocimiento puede reducir el estigma, y cuando ambos se mejoran, la reducción del estigma será más dramática.

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Correspondence to Eshetu Girma.

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Girma, E., Gebretsadik, L.A., Kaufman, M.R. et al. Stigma Against People with HIV/AIDS in Rural Ethiopia, 2005 to 2011: Signs and Predictors of Improvement. AIDS Behav 18, 1046–1053 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0611-0

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