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A community participation intervention to reduce HIV/AIDS stigma, Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeast Thailand

2007; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 19; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09540120701335204

1360-0451

Chupasiri Apinundecha, Wongsa Laohasiriwong, Michael P. Cameron, Stephen Lim,

HIV Research and Treatment

Abstract This paper explores HIV/AIDS stigma in the socio-cultural context of Nakhon Ratchasima Province in the northeastern region of Thailand. Action research was used to develop a community participation intervention. The intervention was implemented in one village over a period of eight months. We describe the intervention and then test its effect on HIV/AIDS knowledge and HIV/AIDS stigma using a non-equivalent pre-test-post-test control group design. Analysis of co-variance confirms that, controlling for initial levels of HIV/AIDS knowledge and stigma, the intervention had a significant effect on HIV/AIDS knowledge score (p<0.01) and HIV/AIDS stigma score (p<0.01). Participatory observations by the researchers on villagers' perceptions and behaviour were consistent with the quantitative results. These results suggest that community interventions which empower the community, combined with a financial contribution to reduce resource constraints, are a useful and effective means of increasing interaction between people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and other community members, increasing tolerance and reducing HIV/AIDS stigma.