Individual and Community Level Factors Related to HIV Diagnosis, Treatment, and Stigma in Kumasi, Ghana: A Field Report

Abstract

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a public health issue globally and in Ghana. While efforts are underway to reduce HIV prevalence in Ghana, there are still some HIV-related issues (duration lived with HIV, mode of HIV diagnosis, HIV status disclosure, HIV treatment, HIV knowledge, and HIV prevention and stigma) that need to be addressed. The purpose of the field study was to examine individual and community level factors related to HIV diagnosis, treatment, and stigma in Kumasi, Ghana. Specifically, we conducted a field-based comparison of HIV-related issues in Kumasi and the US to determine areas of similarities and differences. Since our focus was the Kumasi district in general, and the Suntreso Government Hospital in particular, we used convenient sampling. Thus, study results are not generalizable to the entire population of Ghana. Given the short duration of the entire field study (three weeks) and the fact that most information on the HIV-related issues focused in Ghana are available in the US, secondary data from various sources were used for the US comparison. Results from the study showed that 29.2% of participants in Kumasi had lived with HIV for seven or more years, while data from the US showed that people generally live with HIV for 20 years or more after testing positive for the disease. Most of the study participants in Kumasi (68.5%) stated that they were diagnosed with HIV through a laboratory blood sample test, while rapid antibody and ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) tests were found to be the most commonly used methods in HIV diagnosis in the US. The majority of participants living with HIV in Kumasi (71.7%) and the US (67%) were concerned about their friends and family knowing of their HIV status. Unlike the US where patient assisted programs administered by pharmaceutical companies offer free to lowly priced HIV medication to low-income people living with HIV (PLWH), 92.7% of PLWH in Kumasi had free access to HIV medication. HIV-related stigma was an issue in both Kumasi and the US.