LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 21:1 January 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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“Because it’s not as if one is promiscuous”:
Investigating Culture and STI Care in Africa

Oluwaseun Amusa, M.A.

Abstract

This study explores the implications of culture for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) health care delivery in Africa. A purposive sampling of 20 audio-taped doctor-patient interactions in selected STI and HIV clinics in south west Nigeria, was done. The interactions were transcribed and screened for instances of cultural influences. Insights from Conversation Analysis and the common ground theory were adopted for the analysis. The study found that culture has both positive implications and negative implications for STI care in Africa. The African culture of respect, illustrated through greetings and the use of honorifics constitute positive impacts to STI care delivery, while the cultural practices of stigmatisation of STI patients, taboos, indirect reference to certain parts of the body and the tendency for patriarchal STI deresponsibilisation, were found to be very inimical to STI care in Africa, and Nigeria especially. The study concludes that the positive aspects of culture should be deployed in achieving better health care delivery in STI cases; the negative aspects, some of which have been identified above, should be addressed corrected for better results in the societal conceptualisation, interpretation and treatment of STIs in Africa.

Keywords: Culture, STI care in Africa, Stigmatisation, Conversation Analysis, Common ground

Introduction

Culture can be conceived as the lens through which a society views the world, including issues of health. For instance, “the culture of a society about sex related issues plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases” (Praharaj 2011:1).

Culture has been defined as the “characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts” (Zimmermann 2017). Culture thrives on communication and socialisation. The core of culture is formed by values and these values reflect broad tendencies for certain state of affairs- right or wrong, right or evil, natural or unnatural. Culture is further hypothesised as a collection of shared values, beliefs, and practices that are contained within a clearly defined community (Ulrey & Amason, 2001; Brislin & Yoshida, 1994). These values, beliefs, and practices are conceptualised as variables, and the goal of the health communicator is to identify those underlying cultural cues that may be incorporated into the delivery of the health message. (Kadiri, Ahmad, Mustaffa 2014)

Research has shown that “socio-cultural influences, traditional lifestyles, societal norms and traditions have some influence on sexually transmitted infections (henceforth, STIs), including HIV/AIDS” (Praharaj 2011:2). According to Meyer- Weitz (1998:3), an essential step in curtailing the spread of STIs in South Africa is to understand how the cause, spread and prevention of STIs are conceptualised by STI patients themselves and how these representations influence their behaviour.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Oluwaseun Amusa, M.A.
Department of English Studies Adekunle Ajasin University
Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria
iamseunamusa@gmail.com
+234 8039434380
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