The Meaning of AIDS-Related Deaths in an Urban Town in Ghana

• Published in: Illness, crisis, and loss Vol. 24; no. 4; pp. 261 - 278
• Main Author: Ohemeng, Fidelia N. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-10-2016; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Classification; Death & dying; Death rituals; Disease; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Meaning; Urban areas; Ghana; HIV/AIDS; Ghana; social meaning of AIDS-related deaths
• ISSN: 1054-1373; 1552-6968
• DOI: 10.1177/1054137315592756

HIV/AIDS has claimed the lives of many people, the majority of whom are young. In Ghana, about 200,000 people have lost their lives to the disease. While HIV/AIDS as a disease has enjoyed considerable academic scholarship, understanding how people make sense of death has not received adequate academic attention. This article explores the meaning of death resulting from AIDS in an urban town in Ghana. The views of 25 persons living with HIV/AIDS were solicited through in-depth interviews. Additional data were obtained from focus group discussions with members of the community in which the 25 persons were interviewed. The findings indicate that death from AIDS is seen as disgraceful and shameful. The meaning of AIDS deaths was based on the fact that HIV/AIDS is a metaphor for moral decadence. This image is subsequently projected onto its death. The classification of AIDS death as disgraceful and shameful may have implications for the funeral rites of AIDS patients, while at the same time affecting prevention and treatment.