Religious organizations have the potential to be either partners in or obstacles to combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic. On the one hand, research in Western countries has demonstrated empirical associations between religion, mortality and health, including HIV infection, and there is some evidence that these associations may hold for sub-Saharan Africa as well. In addition, religious organizations encourage some behaviors and forbid others, and as the most common formal organizations in rural Africa they could play a key role in mitigating the consequences of AIDS. On the other hand, anecdotal evidence suggests that some religious organizations consider one key approach of international HIV prevention programs, condom use, to be illicit, and that some stigmatize rather than support those with AIDS. Given the magnitude of the epidemic in SSA and the widespread participation of Africans in religious organizations, it is surprising that there has been no systematic assessment of the extent to which, and the mechanisms by which, religious organizations in SSA facilitate or impede effective responses to the epidemic. Thus, the principal aim of this proposed study is to collect new data on religious organizations in order to examine how these organizations and their """"""""moral communities"""""""" influence responses to the epidemic in a sub-Saharan African country with a major HIV/AIDS epidemic. The proposed project would add new, comprehensive data to an NIH-funded longitudinal study in rural Malawi, thus enhancing the value both of the proposed new data as well as the existing data. In particular, we propose to: (1) collect and analyze new data that would permit a rich description of the characteristics of religious organizations that are relevant for assessing their roles in combating the AIDS epidemic; (2) integrate the new data with an unusual ongoing longitudinal study and (3) conduct individual, village, and multilevel analyses using the integrated data set to examine the influence of religious organizations on individual and community-level HIV status and risk practices.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD050142-02
Application #
7080448
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-AARR-F (02))
Program Officer
Newcomer, Susan
Project Start
2005-06-16
Project End
2008-05-31
Budget Start
2006-06-01
Budget End
2007-05-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$270,027
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pennsylvania
Department
Social Sciences
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
042250712
City
Philadelphia
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
19104
Angotti, Nicole; Frye, Margaret; Kaler, Amy et al. (2014) Popular Moralities and Institutional Rationalities in Malawi's Struggle Against AIDS. Popul Dev Rev 40:447-473
Grant, Monica J; Yeatman, Sara (2014) The impact of family transitions on child fostering in rural Malawi. Demography 51:205-28
Conroy, Amy; Yeatman, Sara; Dovel, Kathryn (2013) The social construction of AIDS during a time of evolving access to antiretroviral therapy in rural Malawi. Cult Health Sex 15:924-37
Angotti, Nicole (2012) Testing differences: the implementation of Western HIV testing norms in sub-Saharan Africa. Cult Health Sex 14:365-78
Anglewicz, Philip (2012) Migration, marital change, and HIV infection in Malawi. Demography 49:239-65
Grant, Monica J (2012) Girls' schooling and the perceived threat of adolescent sexual activity in rural Malawi. Cult Health Sex 14:73-86
Angotti, Nicole; Dionne, Kim Yi; Gaydosh, Lauren (2011) An offer you can't refuse? Provider-initiated HIV testing in antenatal clinics in rural Malawi. Health Policy Plan 26:307-15
Bignami-Van Assche, Simona; Van Assche, Ari; Anglewicz, Philip et al. (2011) HIV/AIDS and time allocation in rural Malawi. Demogr Res 24:671-708
Manglos, Nicolette D; Trinitapoli, Jenny (2011) The third therapeutic system: faith healing strategies in the context of a generalized AIDS epidemic. J Health Soc Behav 52:107-22
Trinitapoli, J (2011) The AIDS-related activities of religious leaders in Malawi. Glob Public Health 6:41-55

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