Keywords
HIV; AIDS
Abstract
Background: People living with disability in the context of a generalised HIV/AIDS epidemic potentially shoulder multiple burdens of disability, poverty, stigma and discrimination. This is obvious when a person is both disabled and HIV positive. Despite the fact that they are at equal or increased risk for HIV infection, more often, their specific needs regarding HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support services are not well aligned with existing HIV/AIDS policies and programmes.
Objectives: The objectives of this study among others were to determine the important factors affecting disabled people’s access to HIV/AIDS information, counselling, testing, treatment care and support services, and to assess whether the design, content and format of HIV/ AIDS IEC materials are accessible, friendly and communicate the required messages to the disabled for behaviour change, prevention, treatment, care and support services in order to inform programming for HIV and AIDS interventions which are currently not user friendly to the special needs of people living with disabilities.
Methodology: This study employed cross sectional design whereby qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis were used. In qualitative methods of data collection, key informant interviews were used as a principal technique whereas structured questionnaire with close-ended questions was the key technique for quantitative data collection. Analysis of quantitative data was done using STATA® statistical software. Thematic content analysis was used for qualitative data analysis.
Results: The major findings of this study are summarised as follows: The physically disabled people constitute the highest (43%) of the studied population. In addition 79.9% indicated that main reason of perceiving themselves to be at the same or higher (compared to non-disabled peers) level of risk of HIV infection is because they are sexually active, contrary to the popular misconception by community members that disabled people are not sexually active. The level of stigma and discrimination against disabled people is still high in the communities. In this study, 49.4% of the interviewed participants believed/thought that they stigmatised and discriminated because of either being disabled or being HIV+. Related to this, 39% of the interviewed participants said that they have ever experienced stigma and discrimination either in the communities they live or when they were seeking health care at health facilities. Moreover, majority (90%) of the blind, 77.5% of the mentally challenged, 60.4% of the dumb and 58.8% of the physically challenged) of the disabled people considered that the existing IEC materials are not user-friendly (in terms of format and content) to the needs of different types of disabled people.
Conclusion: The descriptive findings from quantitative and qualitative data permit two major conclusions regarding barriers which affect disabled people from accessing HIV/AIDS services. Firstly, access and utilisation of HIV/AIDS services among disabled people is mainly affected by high levels of stigma and discrimination by community members and health care workers. Secondly, unfriendliness of the existing IEC intervention aggravates the marginalisation of disabled people from accessing HIV/AIDS prevention messages and information about treatment, care and support services related.
Citation
Munga MA and Ndyetabula GM. Barriers to HIV and AIDS Prevention, Treatment, and Care among People Living with Disabilities in Tanzania: A Cross-Sectional Study. SM J Public Health Epidemiol. 2016; 2(3): 1033.