Research Symposium

BIO

My name is Bethany and I am a fourth year student at FSU from Virginia. I am studying public health and international affairs, and am an aspiring physician. This is my second time participating in research and I am excited to incorporate research into my college and future career experience.

Assessing the Impact of Social Stigma and Sexual Health Behavior on Perceived Vulnerability to HIV Infection Among Adolescent Girls in Kenya

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a region in the African Continent including 49 countries below the Sahara Desert (International Trade Administration, n.d). This region carries a high burden of infectious disease including HIV. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in SSA has claimed thousands of lives with vulnerable populations particularly impacted.

Populations are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS due to many factors, including poor infrastructure surrounding health care delivery, lack of HIV/AIDS education, and social stigmatization of the disease. Furthermore, gender disparities decrease the accessibility of treatments, leaving adolescent girls and women particularly vulnerable. Women are vulnerable due to educational disparities and traditional gender roles where women often lack agency over their lives and families. Adolescent girls have increasingly been a focus as they are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. In SSA, young women and adolescent girls are two times more likely to be living with HIV than boys of the same age (Karim & Baxter, 2019). Given the vulnerability of this population, education programs centered around HIV/AIDS protection are a significant focus for public health stakeholders. Another important consideration in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment is the social stigmatization of HIV/AIDS. The HIV epidemic is estimated to have killed 42.3 million people globally (UNAIDS, 2024). Social stigma around the virus is widespread and impacts the daily lives of people living with HIV. This study will focus on how social stigma and sexual health behavior impact the way in which adolescent girls perceive their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

Keywords: Public Health, HIV/AIDS, Kenya