Structuration theory, a conceptual base for HIV/AIDS stigma

Abstract

The continuing paucity of effective interventions to reduce HIV/AIDS stigma is troubling, given that stigma has long been recognized as a significant barrier to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support. Ineffectual HIV/AIDS stigma-reduction interventions are the product of inadequate conceptual frameworks and methodological tools. And while there is a paucity of effective interventions to reduce stigma, there is no shortage of conceptual frameworks intending to offer a comprehensive understanding of stigma, ranging from socio-cognitive models at the individual level to structural models at the macro level. Observations highlighting inadequacies in the individualistic and structural models are offered, followed by the theory of structuration as a possible complementary conceptual base for designing HIV/AIDS stigma-reduction interventions.