Fatalism and HIV/AIDS beliefs in rural Mali, West Africa.
OBJECTIVE
To examine beliefs about HIV/AIDS of rural Malians and to measure their level of fatalism in context of HIV/AIDS and prevention behaviors.


METHODS
Descriptive, correlational.


METHODS
An AIDS Knowledge and Beliefs survey and the Powe Fatalism Inventory (PFI)-HIV/AIDS version were administered to a convenience sample of 84 people at three health center maternity clinics in southeastern Mali, West Africa.


RESULTS
The sample's HIV/AIDS fatalism mean was 9.2 on a 15-point scale, with an internal consistency of .89. Health workers and more educated participants had significantly lower fatalism scores. Fatalism also varied by the combination of gender and ethnicity. People who believed that AIDS was not real, was a punishment from God, was fabricated by the West, was a curse, and that it was taboo to talk about AIDS had higher fatalism means. None of the prevention indicators were significantly related to fatalism scores.


CONCLUSIONS
These rural Malians had a high overall fatalism mean and their beliefs about AIDS based on traditional culture may affect prevention behaviors. More research is needed to understand the influence of fatalism on prevention behaviors.
Hess
Rosanna F
RF
Research for Health, Inc. Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223, USA. rosannahess@hotmail.com
McKinney
Dawn
D
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel / Q000208:ethnology*; D001293:Attitude to Death / Q000208:ethnology; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008302:Mali; D008875:Middle Aged; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D011322:Primary Prevention; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013609:Taboo