Perceptions and Attitudes Towards HIV/AIDS Patients among General Public in Bahrain
Abstract
Introduction: HIV/AIDS is a major global health problem. In Bahrain, although the prevalence of HIV is low, awareness programs are of high importance for controlling and preventing the distribution of HIV infection. The aim of this study is to determine the attitudes and risk perceptions toward HIV/AIDS in Bahrain. Results of this study will provide background knowledge to inform existing and new educational and preventive
programs.
Methodology: A self-administered questionnaire-based survey was conducted among 1038 Bahraini adults.
Results: The study showed varied attitudes toward HIV/AIDS, but mostly were negative, as 60% of participants agreed to isolate HIV/AIDS patients in workplaces and schools, and 52.4% of them believed that HIV is a divine punishment. A high proportion of respondents (84.4%) believed that religion plays an important role in minimizing the spread of the disease.
Conclusions: The Bahraini public negative attitudes toward HIV/AIDS was a major finding of this study. Successful control programs of HIV infection require limiting the negative attitudes toward HIV patients and the disease. Those negative attitudes found in this study need to be addressed through new and currently existing education and health awareness programs in Bahrain.
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Public Attitudes, Stigmatization, Bahrain
References
[1] Fan H, Conner RF, Villarreal LP (2011) AIDS: Science and Society, 6th edition. London: Jones & Bartlett Publishers 240 p.
[2] Kartikeyan S, Bharmal RN, Tiwari RP, Bisen PS (2007) HIV and AIDS: Basic Elements and Priorities. Netherlands: Springer 418 p.
[3] Knipe DM, Howley P (2013) Fields Virology. Wolters Klwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. USA.
[4] Cock KM, Crowley SP, LO Y, Granich RM, Williams BG (2009) Preventing HIV transmission with antiretrovirals. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 87: 488- 488
[5] UNAIDS (2011) Middle East and North Africa Regional Report on AIDS. Available: http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/ unaidspublication/2011/JC2257_UNAIDS-MENA-report-2011_en.pdf Accessed November 2014.
[6] UNGASS Country Progress Report (2014) Available: http://www.unaids.org/sites/ default/files/country/documents//BHR_narrative_report_2014.pdf Accessed November 2014
[7] Islam MT, Mostafa G, Bhuiya AU, Hawkes S, Fransisco A. (2002) Knowledge on, and Attitude Toward, HIV/AIDS among Staff of an International Organization in Bangladesh. J Health Popul Nutr 20: 271-278.
[8] Andsoy II, Gungor T, Sahin AO, Kar G, Ergil P, Inanmaz N (2013) HIV infection and the Turkish people: A cross-sectional study on the perceptions of Safranbolu inhabitants. Acta Medica Mediterranea 29: 603-610.
[9] Mann JM, Tarantola D, Netter TW (1992) AIDS in the World. USA:Harvard University Press 1037 p
[10] Khan MA (2002) Knowledge on AIDS among female adolescents in Bangladesh: Evidence from the Bangladesh demographic and health survey data. J Health Popul Nutr 20: 130-137.
[11] Bin Briek AS (2009) Knowledge and attitudes of prisons in Mukalla City, Republic of Yemen towards HIV/AIDS. Alandalus For Social and Applied Sciences 2: 18-39
[12] Ghabili K, Shja MM, Kamran P (2008) The Iranian female high school students’ attitude towards people with HIV/AIDS: a cross-sectional study. AIDS Research and Therapy 5: 1-5
[13] Nur N (2012) Turkish school teachers’ knowledge and attitudes toward HIV/AIDS. Croat Med J 53: 271-7
[14] Fraim NL (2012) Knowledge levels and misconceptions about HIV/AIDS: What do University Students in Turkey Really Know? International Journal of Humanities and Social Science 2: 50-58
[15] Torabi MR (2000) Family physicians’ knowledge and attitudes and practices regarding HIV/AIDS Prevention. The Health Education Monograph Series 18: 51-58
[16] Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, Kingdom of Bahrain (2010) Basic Results Population, Housing, Buildings and Establishment Census. Available: http://www.cio.gov.bh/ cio_ara/English/Publications/Census/Population/6.pdf Accessed November 2014
[17] Hasani L, Aghamolaei T, Tavafian SS, Sabili A (2010) Knowledge of Iranian nurses about HIV/AIDS: A cross-sectional study from Bandar Abbas. Iranian Journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases 5: 161-165
[18] Hasanain M (2005) Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Harm Reduction in Muslim Countries. Harm Reduction Journal 2: 23-31
[19] Badahdah AM, Sayem N (2010) HIV-related knowledge and AIDS stigma among college students in Yemen. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 16: 901-906
[20] Taher E, Abdelhai R (2011) Nurses’ knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS: Effects of a health education intervention on two nursing groups in Cairo University, Egypt. Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology 3: 144-154
[21] Montazeri A (2005) AIDS knowledge and attitudes in Iran: results from a populationbased survey in Tehran. Patient Educ Couns 57: 199–203
[22] Celik M, Arican O, Celikoz-Ozkan D (2007) Turkish Internet users’ awareness of and attitudes toward HIV/AIDS and other STDs. Acta Dermatoven APA 16: 13-20
[23] Bhosale SB, Jadhav SL, Singru SA, Banerjee A (2010) Behavioral surveillance survey regarding human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome among high school and junior college students. Indian J Dermatol Ve 76: 33-37
[24] Abolfotouh MA, Al Saleh SA, Mahfouz AA, Abdulfotouh SM, Al Fozan HM (2013) Attitudes of Saudi Nursing Students on AIDS and Predictors of Willingness to Provide Care for Patients in Central Saudi Arabia. SAGE Open 3: 1-11
[25] Wang G, Wada K, Hoshi K, Sasaki N, Ezoe S, Satoh T (2013) Association of Knowledge of HIV and Other Factors with Individuals’ Attitudes toward HIV Infection: A National Cross-Sectional Survey among the Japanese Non Medical Working Population. PloS one 8: 1-8
[26] Al-Ghanim SA (2005) Exploring public knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS in Saudi Arabia: A survey of primary health care users. Saudi Med J 26: 812-818
[27] Ouzouni C, Nakakis K (2012) HIV / AIDS knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of student nurses. Health Science Journal 6: 129-150
[28] Mwamwenda TS (2013) Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) as God’s directive. Journal of AIDS and HIV Research 5: 366-369
[29] Hassan ZM, Wahsheh MA (2011) Knowledge and Attitudes of Jordanian Nurses towards Patients with HIV/AIDS: Findings from a Nationwide Survey. Issues in Mental Health Nursing 32: 774–784
[30] Fahimi FR (2007) Time to intervene: Preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa. Population Reference Bureau Available: http://www.prb.org/ pdf07/hivaidsinmena.pdf Accessed November 2014.
[31] Mahajan AP, Sayles JN, Patel VA, et al (2008) Stigma in the HIV/AIDS epidemic: A review of the literature and recommendations for the way forward. AIDS 22 Suppl 2:67-79.doi:10.1097/01.aids.0000327438.13291.62