hiv knowledge, attitudes and use of health services among people from culturally and linguistically...
DESCRIPTION
Henrike Körner and Augustine Asante report on a pilot study which seeks to survey periodically HIV knowledge, perceptions and use of health services among people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. This paper was presented at the AFAO HIV Educators Conference 2008.TRANSCRIPT
Henrike Körner
Augustine Asante
HIV knowledge, attitudes and use of health services among people from culturally and
linguistically diverse backgrounds
What is the study about?
Aim:
To survey periodically HIV knowledge, perceptions and use of health services among people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds
Pilot study:
Is it possible to recruit sufficiently large samples for a behavioural survey?
Test questionnaire
Four priority communities:
2 Asian (Thai, Cambodian)
2 African (Ethiopian, Sudanese)
Recruitment target: 300
Total recruited: 286
recruited over a period of 4 months
Self-completed questionnaire: English or native language
Age of respondents
Gender
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
Thai Cambodian Ethiopian Sudanese Total
Priority community
Perc
ent
Male
Female
USE OF HEALTH SERVICES
Frequency of using health services
Views about routine health checks
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Important Not important Ever had routine health check
Never had routine health check
Perc
en
t
Views
Thai Cambodian Ethiopian Sudanese
Potential barriers to using health services
HIV knowledge and awareness
Level of HIV/AIDS knowledge and awareness: High awareness across all communities - over 90%
have heard about AIDS and HIV
Exception : Few Cambodians (15.5%) know about AIDS but not about HIV
Sources of HIV/AIDS information: 82.9% - heard about HIV/AIDS recently from the media
(radio, TV, newspapers & magazines)
8.7% - heard about HIV/AIDS through friends/ relatives and community meetings
Knowledge of HIV transmission & protection methods
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Traditional mode{Needles, sex, blood,
mother-to-child}
Misconceptions{Handshake, sharingclothes, mosquitoes,
etc.}
Other mode Traditional methods{Condom alw ays,abstinence, avoidsharing needles}
Condom sometimes Misconceptions{Praying to God,avoid eating c IP,
avoid mosquitoes}
Other methods
Transmission M ode & Protection M ethods
Thai
Cambodian
Ethiopian
Sudanese
Perceptions of HIV infection risk (Who can get HIV?)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Don't know
Technocrats
Married men/w omen
Prostitutes/gay men
Everybody
Response
Percent
Sudanese
Ethiopian
Cambodian
Thai
Views about HIV testing and actual testing for HIV
0 20 40 60 80 100
Never tested
Tested
Don't Know
Not important
Important
Response
Percent
Sudanese
Ethiopian
Cambodian
Thai
Stigma and Discriminations: Views about PLWHA
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0
Don't Know
Negative view s
Positive view s
Views
Percent
Thai Cambodian Ethiopian Sudanese
How should people with HIV/AIDS be treated?
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0
Don't know
Treated w ithsympathy
Treated w ithdisrespect, isolated..
Treated w ith respect
Response
Percent
Thai Cambodian Ethiopian Sudanese
Disclosure of HIV status
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0
Don't know
Should not discloseto other people
Should disclose toother people
Don't know
Should not discloseto sexual partners
Should disclose tosexual partners
Response
Percent
Thai Cambodian Ethiopian Sudanese
HIV and shame
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Don't know
Don't bring shame tothemselves/families
Bring shame tothemselves/families
Response
Percent
Thai Cambodian Ethiopian Sudanese
Conclusion
Contrary to common believe, CALD communities are ready to engage with HIV prevention and social research into HIV
Essential: participation of ethnic communities in research process
Importance of native language to research participants
Heterogeneity of CALD communities and categories ‘Asian’ and ‘African’
Acknowledgements
Tadgh McMahon, Wa’el Sabri, Barbara Luisi, Multicultural HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C Service
The Thai, Cambodia, Sudanese and Ethiopian co-workers of the Multicultural HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C Service
The Thai, Cambodian and African reference groups
The 286 participants who completed the questionnaire
NSW Health for funding