Factors associated with discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV among adult population in Ethiopia: Analysis on Ethiopian demographic and health survey

Abstract

Extensive discriminatory attitudes in a population can affect people’s willingness to be tested for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), their initiation of antiretroviral therapy, social support as well as the quality of life of people infected with HIV. This study aimed to assess factors associated with discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Secondary data analysis was conducted using data from the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic Health Survey. A total of 26,623 adult populations were included. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with discriminatory attitudes. The proportion of participants having discriminatory attitudes towards PLWHA was 93.8% among men and 64.5% among women. This study revealed that rural residence, no formal education, lack of media access, not previously tested for HIV and lack of comprehensive HIV knowledge increase the odds of having discriminatory attitudes. In conclusion, there is a high-level discriminatory attitude towards PLWHA. Improvement in HIV-related knowledge and dealing with wrong perceptions and myths are extremely vital to reduce discriminatory attitudes towards HIV-infected people. Information, education and communication programmes need to intensify its educational campaigns to dispel these misconceptions.