The role of AIDS volunteers in developing community-based care for people with AIDS in Thailand

Asia Pac J Public Health. 2001;13(1):3-8. doi: 10.1177/101053950101300102.

Abstract

The present study analyses the effectiveness of AIDS volunteers in mitigating the stigma attached to People With AIDS (PWAs) within the context of developing community-based care (CBC) in Thailand. A total of 86 trained village health volunteers (T-VHVs) and 99 non-trained village health volunteers (N-VHVs) were enrolled in the study. In addition, 58 villagers in the T-VHV's intervention area and 72 villagers in the non-intervention area were also enrolled. Both T-VHVs and N-VHVs as well as villagers were assessed to determine their level of knowledge with respect to HIV/AIDS and attitudes toward PWAs. Furthermore, we also determined the village health volunteers' level of activity in distributing knowledge of HIV/AIDS in order to prevent and reduce stigma in the community. Although T-VHVs showed a greater depth of knowledge of HIV/AIDS than N-VHVs (p < 0.05), positive attitudes toward PWAs and the level of practice of village health volunteers did not differ significantly between T-VHVs and N-VHVs. While the level of health knowledge of villagers did not differ significantly between the T-VHV's intervention and control areas, a significant difference was observed between the two areas in terms of the villagers' attitudes towards PWAs (p < 0.01). Villagers in the intervention area attached less stigma to PWAs; therefore, T-VHVs played a role in providing basic information on AIDS to the villagers and in mitigating the stigma attached to PWAs. However, these volunteers need to undergo further training through a well-organized training programme in order to obtain a greater depth of knowledge. This is essential for the development of community-based care for PWAs.

MeSH terms

  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome* / therapy*
  • Adult
  • Community Health Services / organization & administration*
  • Community Health Workers / psychology*
  • Community Health Workers / standards
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Educational Status
  • Female
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Prejudice
  • Stereotyping
  • Thailand
  • Volunteers*
  • Workforce