It's Not What You Know, But Who You Knew

This article examines the notion that, as the HIV/AIDS epidemic spreads through communities in Africa and mortality mounts, behaviours that prevent transmission must also change. The authors focus on men in three countries - Uganda, Kenya, and Zambia - examining determinants of their behaviour change. They analyse the relative importance of knowing someone who has died of AIDS as compared with other factors such as age, education level, knowledge of HIV/AIDS, economic status, and marital status. Data from three DHS surveys in Uganda (1995), Zambia (1996), and Kenya (1998) are fitted to a model predicting behaviour change. Results from this cross-sectional, multinational study suggest that married and working men aged 20-40 are significantly more likely to have changed their behaviour in response to the epidemic than are others. Personal experience of AIDS is a significant predictor of behaviour change in Uganda and Zambia, and is marginally significant in Kenya. One implication of this study is that behaviour change is partly determined by the high level of mortality experienced by African communities. A second implication is that higher levels of disclosure, or lower levels of denial of AIDS as a cause of death, may help individuals change their behaviour.

This material is available in the journal AIDS Education & Prevention, Apr 2001 13(2): 160-74.