An interdisciplinary approach to HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination in Belize: the roles of geography and ethnicity

Belize experiences the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in Central America, ranging between 2.1 and 3.2% (World Health Organization 2008). To add to the limited literature on HIV/AIDS Stigma and Discrimination (HASD) in Belize, the authors conducted a study to assess whether stigma and discrimination is related to geography and ethnicity. One-hundred forty participants were interviewed using a structured survey instrument at three different parts of the country, and the results were analyzed quantitatively. These places were Cayo District on the western border with Guatemala, Belize City, and two cayes (Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye). Respondents in Belize City generally held the lowest rates of stigmatizing and discriminatory attitudes towards individuals living with HIV/AIDS, highlighting a possible relationship between geography and ethnicity. Concurrently, self-identifying Afro-Belizeans and Creoles reported lower rates of HASD attitudes in some contexts than other ethnic groups. The results show that there may a relation between geography, ethnicity, and HASD, and that a randomized, controlled study is an important next step in determining the strength of that relation.