- Title
- HIV-related stigma in rural areas: a case of citrus farm workers based in Addo community in Eastern Cape
- Creator
- Mazorodze, Tasara
- Subject
- Stigma (Social psychology) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Subject
- Discrimination -- Psychology HIV infections -- Psychology AIDS (Disease) -- Psychology
- Date Issued
- 2019
- Date
- 2019
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Doctoral
- Type
- DPhil
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/41526
- Identifier
- vital:36501
- Description
- While South Africa has recently joined the rest of the world in the race to achieve an AIDS free generation by the year of 2030, little has been done to develop the scientific interventions that address HIV-related stigma, which is one of the major barriers to the fight against HIV. To the researcher’s knowledge, this is the first study in the South African context that seeks to assess the forms of HIV- related stigma in a local context and in a rural area in particular, where HIV related stigma research and interventions remains scant. This study acknowledges the dynamic, unique, multidimensional and sensitive nature of HIV-related stigma and, therefore, an explanatory mixed approach enabled the researcher to provide a comprehensive assessment of HIV-related stigma amongst the citrus farm workers who are based in Addo, Eastern Cape. Quantitative data was collected from 200 participants across five farms, whereas 50 employees across the 5 farms were also selected to take part in the focus group discussions. An assessment of the reliability and validity of local HIV-related stigma scales (Kalichman et al., 2005 personal stigma scale-English, isiXhosa and Afrikaans version and Visser et al. 2008 personal and attributed stigma scale-English version) and the UNAIDS (2012) HIV knowledge scale was conducted. The assessment showed that the reliability of these scales of measurement tend to vary according to context. In this study, the Kalichman et al., (2005) personal stigma scale (English version) scored a weaker reliability score (alpha=0.58). Thus, as the scale is not reliable for the rural context, it was not considered. Furthermore, quantitative findings show that citrus farm workers are characterised by lack of/ little knowledge about HIV, which results in the stigmatisation of people who are HIV positive in the form of symbolic, instrumental, personal and attributed stigma, as well as a fear of HIV disclosure. Findings also revealed that participants who display a high personal stigma score are likely to display a high attributed stigma score (r=0.47, p<0.00). This confirm the assumption of social identity theory that people tend to use stigma as a ‘protective function’ to protect their identity by labelling other people as ‘’deviant’ or ‘stigmatising’. This finding is particularly relevant in that it reveals that, while many people are aware that stigmatising people with HIV is not morally acceptable, they rather attribute stigmatising attitudes to their communities. Thus future studies need to consider emphasising the assessment of attributed stigma in a rural context. Quantitative findings also revealed that the effect of the following demographic variables, namely race (F=20.1, p=0.00), marital status (F=3.58, p=0.00), religion (F=7.17, p=0.03) and education (F=2.63, p=0.03) on HIV-related stigma was statistically significant. This provides proof that HIV-related interventions that were developed for the Addo community need to consider the above-mentioned demographics variables. The qualitative findings provided an in-depth analysis of the key quantitative findings. A lack of knowledge about HIV among participants was further confirmed by the following themes that were common during focus group discussions: misconceptions about HIV transmission and prevention; false beliefs that healthy looking people cannot have HIV; HIV symptoms are clearly visible; and HIV can be transmitted through contact with people who are HIV positive. Possible causes of HIV-related stigma as revealed by the qualitative findings include; fear of death; the belief that HIV is a punishment for bad behaviour; and the fear of being isolated and rejected. The qualitative approach revealed other forms of HIV-related stigma that were not common in the quantitative studynamely; healthcare, employment and verbal stigma. The focus group discussions revealed the major reasons why a large number of the farm works may be reluctant to disclose their status, namely fear of the unknown and attributed stigma. The study concluded by offering recommendations for the designing and tailoring of HIV-related interventions in the rural context and in the citrus sector in particular.
- Format
- xxviii, 268 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | TASARA MAZORODZE.pdf | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |