Attitudes towards community based residential care for people living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

Community based care and support are important aspects of HIV/AIDS management in resource-poor African countries in view of increasing incidence of the disease and absence of a cure. A representative community sample (n = 2040) selected using a clustered stratified selection procedure was studied in Ogun, Oyo, and Osun states. A single item question which formed part of a larger survey of the stigma of mental illness was used to elicit information about the opinion of respondents regarding provision of a group home in their neighborhood for the care of persons experiencing a range of medical and social conditions which include HIV/AIDS, mental handicap, previous jail term, physical disability, mental illness, and drug abuse. Of the respondents, 906 (44.4%) were males and 1134(55.65) were females. The mean age was 43.5 (SD 19.72). Over 71% of the respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the location of a residential care for persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in their neighborhood. This level of rejection was only comparable to that for drug addicts and alcoholics. PLWHA's were more likely to be rejected than ex-convicts for whom about 55% expressed rejection. Decreasing education (X2 = 32.55, p < 0.003) lower income (X2 = 21.25, p < 0.01), urban residence of the respondents (X2 = 15.11, p < 0.05) and female gender (X2 = 9.25, p < 0.05) were associated with a negative attitude to such a residential care for PLWHA. These results suggest a deep-seated prejudice against the provision of a group home for the PLWHA. A community-based enlightenment program anchored on the nature and course of HIV/AIDS should be part of a holistic management approach to the disease.