HIV/AIDS Conspiracy Theories: A Barrier to HIV Prevention?
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: HIV/AIDS conspiracy theories are beliefs that range from theories involving government involvement in the creation of HIV to beliefs that testing and medications are being used to wipe out “undesirable” populations. Research on HIV/AIDS conspiracy theories in California and nation-wide has found that approximately one quarter of African Americans of all socioeconomic backgrounds agree with statements such as “HIV/AIDS is a man-made virus that the federal government made to kill and wipe out black people.” What are these beliefs, who holds them, and how might they affect HIV prevention in California? This research aims to answer these questions by studying 600 African American and Latina women in the Bay Area. While 8% of all AIDS cases in California are among women, women are currently the fastest growing population with AIDS in the state – most (61%) of these women are African American and Latina. This shows that HIV prevention efforts in California (and nation-wide) are having limited success in decreasing the rates of HIV infection. This study aims to contribute to absences in knowledge vital to the development of HIV prevention measures for African American and Latina women in California by extending prior research to ask whether and how HIV/AIDS conspiracy theories might be barriers to HIV prevention. This study combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies in a comprehensive investigation of the emergence, prevalence, meaning and implications of conspiracy theories among African American and Latina women in the Bay Area through the following two components: 1) a longitudinal, quantitative study of the relationship between conspiracy theories and sexual and drug use behaviors among 600 women in the Gender Economic Model (GEM) Study, using the Conspiracy Theory Scale developed by the Principal Investigator, based at the University of California, San Francisco’s Center for AIDS Prevention Studies; and 2) a qualitative investigation of the meanings and implications of conspiracy theories among a sample of 30 African American and Latina women similar to those the GEM Study. This research presents the first comparative analysis of the prevalence and meanings of HIV/AIDS conspiracy theories among the fastest growing population with AIDS in California, African American and Latina women. Additionally, through its innovative study design, this research presents the first study of these theories over time to see how they might affect sexual risk behavior. This study is also the first qualitative investigation of HIV/AIDS conspiracy theories, asking in-depth questions about participants’ beliefs about HIV/AIDS. This study will provide rich exploratory territory for future investigation of these theories, as well as immediate insight into the development of specific HIV/AIDS policies and programs that can consider the structural context in which these communities are living and dying with AIDS.