Stigmatizing Attitudes towards People Living With HIV/AIDS: A Comparative Analysis of Religious Adherents of Urban Sprawling and Industrial Communities of Ghana

HIV related stigmatizing attitudes constitute one of the greatest stumbling blocks to the fight against the HIV epidemic the world over. The study examined the different levels of stigmatizing attitudes expressed by religious adherents of Orthodox, Pentecostal/Charismatic, African Independent Churches, Islam and African Traditional Religion in urban sprawling and industrial communities of Ghana. The study used structured questionnaire administered during forenoon services and snowball techniques to gather the information. An in-depth interview technique was also used to gather information from key informants on the topic.
The outcome of the research indicated that generally expressions of HIV related stigmatizing attitudes were high in the two study areas. While expressions of HIV related shame stigmatizing and judgmental attitudes tended to be higher in Ashaiman Municipality, Urban Sprawling community, expressions of fear of casual contact were the case in the Tema Municipality, an industrial community. In addressing this problem there is the need to educate religious adherents about the epidemic and to express love and compassion towards persons living with HIV/AIDS.