Antiretroviral therapy has effectively changed Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) from a terminal to a manageable chronic illness. However, People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) still contend with stigmatization, hostility, and gossip which take their toll on their health and psychological well-being. This paper explores the factors responsible for the stigmatization of PLWHA. The 2008 Botswana Aids Impact Survey III (BAIS III) data was used to assess the attitudes of people toward HIV/AIDS patients in Botswana using the generalized additive model. The model was used to simultaneously measure the fixed and nonlinear effects. The fixed effects of categorical covariates were modeled using the diffuse prior while P-spline with the second-order random walk was considered for the nonlinear effect of a continuous variable. The Binomial distribution was used to handle the dichotomous nature of the three dependent variables considered. The dependent variables considered are family members, teachers, and a shopkeeper/food seller who live with HIV/AIDS. This study has shown that people who live in urban areas, are educated, married/living together with a partner or even divorced and those whose family members are sick with HIV or AIDS are more likely to show discriminatory attitudes them

Projects

Currently no objects available

Currently no objects available