Living with AIDS: perceptions, attitudes and post-diagnosis behaviour of HIV/AIDS patients in Ghana

Abstract

AIDS infection has created a fear of stigmatization, isolation and panic among infected persons. There are, however, few studies that explore the perceptions and attitudes of HIV/AIDS patients in sub-Saharan Africa, partly because of the isolation and withdrawal of patients. Using data from a study on the social dimensions of AIDS infection in Ghana, this paper explores the attitudes and behaviour of patients and their perception of the attitudes of their relations and neighbours towards them. The traditional forms of support for sick persons in Ghana are under strain either due to or independent of HIV infection. In spite of changes, infected persons perceive their female relatives to be more sympathetic than their male relatves. Some patients continue to deny to themselves their HIV status. These findings have implications for programming as the disease enters its second decade.