The perceptions of employee wellness programme practitioners concerning HIV and AIDS workplace stigma in the Gauteng Provincial Government

Abstract

HIV and AIDS stigma has become a vital challenge for all stakeholders in the workplace. Although government has developed policies on managing HIV and AIDS, indications are that the implementation of these policies and strategies has not been effective in mitigating HIV and AIDS workplace stigma. The key thrust for conducting this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of Employee Wellness Practitioners concerning HIV and AIDS stigma in the Gauteng Provincial Government [GPG] departments. The study was geared towards ascertaining empirically the Employee Wellness Programme [EWP] practitioners’ perceptions regarding the manifestation of HIV and AIDS stigma, the context of stigma in a government department, and insight into whether workplace interventions have been effective in mitigating stigma. The general orientation to the study in Chapter 1 provides an overview of the definition of the problem of stigma, and also of the goals and objectives of the study, the research question, empirical approach, research design and methodologies used, pilot testing of data collection instrument, research population, sampling methods, ethical considerations and the structure of the study report. Fourteen EWP practitioners from the 13 GPG departments were interviewed by the researcher. The literature review in Chapter 2 theoretically scrutinises the problem of HIV and AIDS stigma with specific reference to the types, forms sources, causes and consequences of stigma. The conjectural context of HIV and AIDS stigma in the workplace is expounded and workplace interventions are explored. Chapter 3 of this study presents and analyses the data collected from the respondents. Findings indicate that HIV and AIDS stigma is widespread in the GPG departments and that workplace responses as per EWP practitioners’ perceptions are diverse. HIV and AIDS stigma mitigation strategies necessitate the use of multi-dimensional, multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approaches which should be tailored to address the challenges and needs of relevant stakeholders. From the results of this study it is apparent that HIV and AIDS stigma has an immense impact on the performance of government employees, and that current HIV and Employee Wellness policies are not sufficient to enhance stigma mitigation in the workplace. Lack of support, commitment and visionary leadership in government departments impede the hard EWP practitioners’ efforts to de-stigmatise HIV and AIDS in the GPG. Chapter 4 presents the conclusions and recommendations for prioritisation and implementation through workplace interventions. Copyright