The Socioeconomic Determinants of the Prevalence HIV/AIDS among Women in Cameroon

Abstract

HIV/AIDS infection is a serious public health problem in Cameroon. It is a main cause of mortality which negatively affects the economic and social development of the  country. The last demographic health survey in the country shows that the phenomenon is widespread and affects mostly youths and women. The aim of this study is to analyse the socioeconomic determinants of HIV/AIDS prevalence among women in Cameroon. The methodology is theoretically inspired by the economic rational choice theory of sexual risk behaviour and uses logistic regression for empirical testing. Data is  collected from the 2011 Demographic Health Survey of the National Institute of  Statistics. The results show that women who have a high probability of being HIV Positive are those who are sexually active, widows or divorced, live in urban areas, uneducated or have primary education, and belong to poor or average income  households. These are also women who are physically assaulted, who don’t use  condoms, are not aware of HIV/AIDS, have many sexual partners, are unemployed, and have male sexual partners who are older than them.

Key words: HIV/AIDS, prevalence, women, socioeconomics determinants, economic model of sexual risk behaviour.