Social Perceptions of HIV/AIDS among the Wayuu of Colombia |
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Authors: | Diana María Castro-Arroyave Juan F. Gamella Mora Carlos Rojas Arbeláez |
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Affiliation: | 1. Departamento de Antropología Social, Universidad de Granada, Spain;2. Facultad Nacional de Salud Pública, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia |
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Abstract: | Understanding how Indigenous populations perceive HIV/AIDS is of high relevance for the implementation of culturally appropriate interventions. The study analyzed the ways in which Indigenous Wayuu communities of Colombia socially perceive and respond to HIV/AIDS from their sociocultural realities and their knowledge of the illness. It analyzed qualitative data from 9 focus groups and 29 semi-structured interviews. The Wayuu think of HIV/AIDS as “the illness”, that it is incurable, fatal, transmitted from alijunas (non Wayuu), and beyond their understanding. They seem to perceive HIV/AIDS similarly to the ways Western societies perceived unknown or misunderstood epidemics in the past. |
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Keywords: | Colombia HIV/AIDS Indigenous health social perception HIV/AIDS Wayuu |
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