They will Mock at you: Barriers and Incentives to Youth Acceptance of HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing in Kumasi, Ghana
Date
2012-10-05
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Abstract
Abstract
This work looks at the determinants of youth acceptance or decline of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) offered in Kumasi, Ghana. All data are primary, and were gathered from the field through questionnaire surveys, semi-structured in-depth interviews and observation. The determinants identified had socio-cultural, structural, economic, and spatio-temporal dimensions. Some of the socio-cultural barriers identified are stigma, fear, ignorance, suspicion, gossiping, silence, belief and gender of youth. The attitudes of healthcare providers, inadequate hospital staff, minimal political commitment, and less influential media campaigns were some of the structural barriers revealed. Poverty was the main economic barrier identified, whilst the architectural design of hospital, hospital codes, and the physical layout of VCT centre, constitute the major spatial-temporal barriers to VCT. The socio-cultural incentives to VCT revealed were belief of negativity, adequate social capital and gender. The structural incentives identified included the availability of free testing and treatment, and positive provider attitude. Recommendations such as intensive campaigning and education, creation of social network pages, free, anonymous and rapid testing, political commitment, and legal protection of seropositive people against discrimination are made.
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Geography, Gender Studies, Public Health
Citation
Asenso, O. (2012). They will Mock at you: Barriers and Incentives to Youth Acceptance of HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing in Kumasi, Ghana (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/28427