Knowledge About Hiv and Discriminatory Attitudes Toward People Living With Hiv in Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Little evidence is available regarding knowledge about HIV and attitudes of the general population toward PLHIV in Pakistan. Secondary analysis of data from PDHS 2012-13 was performed to evaluate the effect of knowledge about HIV on discriminatory attitudes toward PLHIV in Pakistan and to explore their association with socioeconomic and demographic variables. Methods: Ever-married persons age 15-49 who had ever heard about AIDS were included in the study. Variables measuring composite knowledge and discriminatory attitude were developed and recoded into three groups for analysis. Results: Around 17% of respondents correctly answered all five questions regarding transmission and prevention of HIV. Overall by the composite three-category knowledge variable, 66% had more knowledge, 29% and 5% had some and no knowledge about HIV respectively. About 22.8% of respondents showed more discriminatory attitude, while 61.1% showed some and only 16% of the respondents showed no discriminatory attitude toward PLHIV. The study found a statistically significant inverse relationship between knowledge about HIV and discriminatory attitude toward PLHIV. Regression analysis showed that respondents with secondary or higher education and in the middle, rich, and richest wealth quintiles exhibit less discriminatory attitude toward PLHIV. Men, despite having more knowledge about HIV, held more discriminatory attitude toward PLHIV. Conclusion: The results suggest a need for Pakistani society to become better informed about HIV/AIDS in order to reduce the stigma associated with HIV and avoid discriminatory attitudes.

Determinants of overall knowledge of and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS transmission among ever-married women in Pakistan: evidence from the Demographic and Health Survey 2012–13

“…These results are consistent with previous research conducted in South India, where most of the respondents had good knowledge about HIV/AIDS and had positive attitudes towards PLWHAs [43]. Similarly, studies conducted in Karachi (Pakistan) [44] and across Pakistan [16] also reported good knowledge about HIV/AIDS among respondents. Nonetheless, these results also highlight the gaps in women’s knowledge and non-discriminatory attitude towards PLWHAs, which needs to be addressed.…”

“…Women’s overall knowledge about HIV/AIDS and their attitudes towards PLWHAs are the outcome variables for this research. Both variables were inferred from a series of questions used in the PDHS 2012–13 questionnaire [39], consistent with previous similar studies [16, 40] and also aligned with the global AIDS monitoring indicators of 2018 [27]. All the women who had ever heard of HIV/AIDS further responded to questions on their knowledge and attitudes towards PLWHAs.…”

“…Various studies have been conducted so far in local settings, focusing particularly on knowledge, attitudes and practices around HIV/AIDS amongst high-risk groups [19–22]. Moreover, what little evidence is available in Pakistan stems from studies with a small sample size about the general population’s knowledge and attitude on HIV/AIDS [23–25], along with a few studies comparing women’s and men’s knowledge and attitudes around HIV/AIDS, focusing on socio-demographic factors only [16, 26]. Hence, this research will be a value-addition, aiming to explore the effects of various determinants related to socio-demographic factors and autonomy on women’s overall knowledge about HIV/AIDS and attitudes towards PLWHAs in Pakistan.…”

Determinants of Overall HIV/AIDS Knowledge Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women Aged 15–24 Years in Malawi

“…Thus, participants who had a score of 3-5 were regarded as having high HIV/AIDS knowledge, while those who had a score of 0-2 were considered as having low knowledge. The construction of the overall HIV/AIDS knowledge variable has been published previously [14][15][16].…”

Investigação-ação sobre o VIH/SIDA em estudantes de enfermagem

“…Os enfermeiros encontram-se na linha da frente para a prevenção do VIH/SIDA e são elementos chave no cuidar destes clientes (Bernhed, Mollstedt, & Rosengren, 2018). Estudos anteriores mostraram que a educação relativa ao VIH/SIDA reduziu as atitudes negativas em relação às pessoas que vivem com VIH/SIDA (Genberg, Hlavka, Konda, et al, 2009;Suominen, Laakkonen, Polukova, et al, 2015;Khan, Bilal, & Siddiqui, 2017;Feyissa, Lockwood, Woldie, Munn, 2019). A capacitação através de um conhecimento sólido e atitudes saudáveis faz com que as competências aprendidas ultrapassem o mero desenvolvimento profissional e sejam úteis para tomadas de decisão individual ao nível da vida pessoal e social.…”