Culture, Gender, and HIV
APHA week continues: At last week's APHA meeting, many papers reported differences in the way that men and women regard HIV and AIDS, across many cultures. All results are 2007. In India, Agrawal et al reported that men were significantly more likely to hold stigmatizing attitudes than women (OR=1.56). Fumihiko Yokota found that men living with HIV/AIDS in Thailand were more likely to perceive and experience stigma than women living with HIV/AIDS. Men also tended to have more visible symptoms in this study.
In the Western hemisphere, fear of HIV stigma is also a powerful force. Thomas et al that fear of stigma kept both African-American men and women at historically black colleges and universities from getting tested for HIV. "Promiscuity" was seen as being a risk factor for women, and "down low" behavior was seen as risky for men. Dévieux et al found that only 25% of HIV+ pregnant women in Haiti had disclosed their status to partners or family, due to fear of stigma. Rojas et al surveyed Latino university students with a 12-item quiz on prevention, transmission and stigma; they report that "the likelihood of answering stigma questions correctly decreased ... by 68% if the respondent was a female." (I have written the author for clarification of this point).
Some days, I really feel the draw of public health again. I'm unabashedly soaking in it this week. If this isn't your cup of tea -- well, I promise no more APHA papers next week. (maybe) Anyway, HIV Stigma: I think I was 17 the first time I got tested, but my memories are somewhat fuzzy on this point. Getting tested wasn't the big deal. However, the walk to the clinic to pick up my results is a very vivid memory. There had been a storm the night before, and the trees were covered in a thick coating of ice. I remember the sound of the wind clicking the frozen branches together. It was very beautiful and for fifteen minutes I was terrified. I got tested every few years after that. Since 2002, I've been tested annually. It has finally become routine, but it wasn't automatic.
The results seem to fit the pattern that women are more concerned about social stigma, and less likely to apply it, than men. However, not all of the studies referenced today address this issue, and it's difficult to really assess the relative strength of these results. Only the abstracts of the APHA meeting talks are available online.
In the Western hemisphere, fear of HIV stigma is also a powerful force. Thomas et al that fear of stigma kept both African-American men and women at historically black colleges and universities from getting tested for HIV. "Promiscuity" was seen as being a risk factor for women, and "down low" behavior was seen as risky for men. Dévieux et al found that only 25% of HIV+ pregnant women in Haiti had disclosed their status to partners or family, due to fear of stigma. Rojas et al surveyed Latino university students with a 12-item quiz on prevention, transmission and stigma; they report that "the likelihood of answering stigma questions correctly decreased ... by 68% if the respondent was a female." (I have written the author for clarification of this point).
Some days, I really feel the draw of public health again. I'm unabashedly soaking in it this week. If this isn't your cup of tea -- well, I promise no more APHA papers next week. (maybe) Anyway, HIV Stigma: I think I was 17 the first time I got tested, but my memories are somewhat fuzzy on this point. Getting tested wasn't the big deal. However, the walk to the clinic to pick up my results is a very vivid memory. There had been a storm the night before, and the trees were covered in a thick coating of ice. I remember the sound of the wind clicking the frozen branches together. It was very beautiful and for fifteen minutes I was terrified. I got tested every few years after that. Since 2002, I've been tested annually. It has finally become routine, but it wasn't automatic.
The results seem to fit the pattern that women are more concerned about social stigma, and less likely to apply it, than men. However, not all of the studies referenced today address this issue, and it's difficult to really assess the relative strength of these results. Only the abstracts of the APHA meeting talks are available online.