Factors Determining South African Construction Workers’ Prejudice towards and Discrimination against HIV+ Persons

Abstract

Stigma and fear of discrimination are powerful deterrents against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody testing. Prejudice and discrimination against people living with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are deterrents to their willingness to disclose their status and thereby avail themselves of treatment. Stigma impairs employees’ general well-being, affecting their work capacity, and thus directly impacting upon project management success. Little is known about construction workers’ prejudice towards and discrimination against HIV+ persons, and the determinants thereof. A field-administered questionnaire survey gathered data from 512 site-based construction employees in the Western Cape, South Africa. Following bivariate and regression analyses of the survey response data, a structural equations model comprising demographic factors, lifestyle risk, substance use (alcohol consumption and drug use), knowledge about HIV/AIDS, and attitudinal fear of testing is posited to explain prejudice towards and discrimination against HIV+ persons. The results indicate the following: (1) education, HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudinal fear of testing, and prejudice towards HIV+ persons are determinants of discrimination against HIV+ persons; (2) education, HIV/AIDS knowledge, and attitudinal fear of testing are determinants of prejudice towards HIV+ persons; (3) AIDS knowledge is predicted by level of education and ethnicity; and (4) attitudinal fear of testing is predicted by level of education, HIV/AIDS knowledge, and extent of risky lifestyle. The research confirms current knowledge about the multivariate determination of prejudice towards and discrimination against HIV+ persons. It advances this understanding by identifying and emphasizing the central role played by education and subject-specific information in such determination. Specifically, it offers a clearer picture of the direct influence of educational background and AIDS knowledge in determining both the cognitive dimension of prejudice and the behavioral manifestation of this through discrimination. This has clear implications for construction firms in their efforts at HIV/AIDS intervention management. As much of this AIDS knowledge is determined by cultural beliefs and values, there exists the need to design programs that directly and sensitively address these cultural beliefs and their likely impact on prejudice and discrimination. Likewise, prior education is also critical, both in terms of amplifying or mitigating the impact of cultural beliefs and in terms of the potential comprehension by workers of such structured media and awareness campaigns. Failure to account for these two factors and their influence on cognition and behavior would result in interventions of diminished impact and success.