Bidirectional interactions between HIV/AIDS and Indian culture

Journal article

Health interventions and research initiatives focused on the Indian HIV/AIDS epidemic have often neglected the critical relationship between disease and its cultural contexts. This study synthesises and builds upon current understandings of how cultures and HIV/AIDS interact in India, whilst highlighting significant gaps in knowledge. Cultural dynamics shape the trajectory of the epidemic, community responses to it and individual experiences of HIV-positivity. Importantly, the relationship is not unidirectional: HIV/AIDS has also been a catalyst for cultural changes. Viewing the epidemic as a concurrently biological and cultural process will facilitate appropriate responses to the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS.

Authors: Duff, A

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Anthropological Society of Oxford
• Journal: Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford Online
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 188-212
• Publication date: 2014-01-01
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-9ro1v7jmq
• ISSN: 2040-1876
• Language: English
• Keywords: JASO