Persons with disabilities (PWDs) constitute about 15% of the world population and 5% of Cameroon population. Persons with physical disability have been identified as one of the vulnerable groups to HIV due to several challenges posed by their disability. They represent one of the largest and most underserved population, have an unmet needs for health including HIV services, and have historically been excluded from HIV planning and programming largely due to perceptions that they are not at risk. Further, there is scarcity of literature on HIV/AIDS relating to PWDs. Therefore, this study is aimed at investigating the perception of risk of contracting HIV among persons with physical disability in Cameroon. A qualitative study was conducted among ten persons with physical disability aged 18 years and above, selected purposively in Kumba (South West region of Cameroon), using in-depth interviews to collect data in April 2015. The participants perceived that persons with physical disability in Cameroon are at high risk of contracting HIV, because of poverty, sexual risk behaviours, low literacy levels and low likelihood or lack of marriage (singlehood). Policy-makers should provide subsidies for commodities with respect to persons with disabilities, empower them economically, and implement tight legislation against gender-based violence and rape towards people with disabilities. Special programmes targeting HIV prevention and treatment amongst this group is of utmost importance. Collaboration with the Cameroon Ministries of Social Affairs to better address their neglected social and economic needs is compelling.
| Published in | International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science (Volume 1, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20150101.11 |
| Page(s) | 1-7 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Cameroon, Educational Level, HIV/AIDS, Perception of Risk, Persons with Physical Disability, Poverty
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APA Style
Elvis E. Tarkang, Prosper M. Lutala. (2015). Perceived Susceptibility of Persons with Physical Disability to Factors Contributing to the Risk of Contracting HIV in Cameroon: A Qualitative Study. International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science, 1(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20150101.11
ACS Style
Elvis E. Tarkang; Prosper M. Lutala. Perceived Susceptibility of Persons with Physical Disability to Factors Contributing to the Risk of Contracting HIV in Cameroon: A Qualitative Study. Int. J. HIV/AIDS Prev. Educ. Behav. Sci. 2015, 1(1), 1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20150101.11
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20150101.11,
author = {Elvis E. Tarkang and Prosper M. Lutala},
title = {Perceived Susceptibility of Persons with Physical Disability to Factors Contributing to the Risk of Contracting HIV in Cameroon: A Qualitative Study},
journal = {International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science},
volume = {1},
number = {1},
pages = {1-7},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20150101.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20150101.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijhpebs.20150101.11},
abstract = {Persons with disabilities (PWDs) constitute about 15% of the world population and 5% of Cameroon population. Persons with physical disability have been identified as one of the vulnerable groups to HIV due to several challenges posed by their disability. They represent one of the largest and most underserved population, have an unmet needs for health including HIV services, and have historically been excluded from HIV planning and programming largely due to perceptions that they are not at risk. Further, there is scarcity of literature on HIV/AIDS relating to PWDs. Therefore, this study is aimed at investigating the perception of risk of contracting HIV among persons with physical disability in Cameroon. A qualitative study was conducted among ten persons with physical disability aged 18 years and above, selected purposively in Kumba (South West region of Cameroon), using in-depth interviews to collect data in April 2015. The participants perceived that persons with physical disability in Cameroon are at high risk of contracting HIV, because of poverty, sexual risk behaviours, low literacy levels and low likelihood or lack of marriage (singlehood). Policy-makers should provide subsidies for commodities with respect to persons with disabilities, empower them economically, and implement tight legislation against gender-based violence and rape towards people with disabilities. Special programmes targeting HIV prevention and treatment amongst this group is of utmost importance. Collaboration with the Cameroon Ministries of Social Affairs to better address their neglected social and economic needs is compelling.},
year = {2015}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Perceived Susceptibility of Persons with Physical Disability to Factors Contributing to the Risk of Contracting HIV in Cameroon: A Qualitative Study AU - Elvis E. Tarkang AU - Prosper M. Lutala Y1 - 2015/06/15 PY - 2015 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20150101.11 DO - 10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20150101.11 T2 - International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science JF - International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science JO - International Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Behavioural Science SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-5765 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20150101.11 AB - Persons with disabilities (PWDs) constitute about 15% of the world population and 5% of Cameroon population. Persons with physical disability have been identified as one of the vulnerable groups to HIV due to several challenges posed by their disability. They represent one of the largest and most underserved population, have an unmet needs for health including HIV services, and have historically been excluded from HIV planning and programming largely due to perceptions that they are not at risk. Further, there is scarcity of literature on HIV/AIDS relating to PWDs. Therefore, this study is aimed at investigating the perception of risk of contracting HIV among persons with physical disability in Cameroon. A qualitative study was conducted among ten persons with physical disability aged 18 years and above, selected purposively in Kumba (South West region of Cameroon), using in-depth interviews to collect data in April 2015. The participants perceived that persons with physical disability in Cameroon are at high risk of contracting HIV, because of poverty, sexual risk behaviours, low literacy levels and low likelihood or lack of marriage (singlehood). Policy-makers should provide subsidies for commodities with respect to persons with disabilities, empower them economically, and implement tight legislation against gender-based violence and rape towards people with disabilities. Special programmes targeting HIV prevention and treatment amongst this group is of utmost importance. Collaboration with the Cameroon Ministries of Social Affairs to better address their neglected social and economic needs is compelling. VL - 1 IS - 1 ER -
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