Stigmatization of and discrimination against people who are HIV positive, or have AIDS – a female perspective in Zwartwater, Eastern Cape Province

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the perceived stigmatization of and discrimination against people who are HIV positive or people who are living with AIDS. One questionnaire was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Data collection was conducted for a period of three weeks in the Eastern Cape province at the Zwartwater area in Lady Frere and at the Queenstown (Frontier) Hospital. A sample of 170 (of the 900) females was interviewed, of which 100 were sequentially sampled from the community and 70 were sequentially sampled whilst they were queuing at the Queenstown (Frontier) Hospital for care. Households from the rural area were selected by visiting every fourth house on the route linking the houses in this area. At the hospital, selection started at the back of the queue and every sixth person was selected and interviewed. Scores were calculated for knowledge and attitudes towards people who are HIV positive and towards people who have AIDS. It was found that knowledge and attitude scores did not differ between the various age groups tested. It was furthermore found that an increased knowledge score improved attitudes towards people who are HIV-positive or have AIDS.