2024/07/16 by Duff, Aoife
paper · doi:10.5287/ora-9ro1v7jmq
Health interventions and research initiatives focused on the Indian HIV/AIDS epidemic have often neglected the critical relationship between disease and its cultural contexts. This study synthesises and builds upon current understandings of how cultures and HIV/AIDS interact in India, whilst highlighting significant gaps in knowledge. Cultural dynamics shape the trajectory of the epidemic, community responses to it and individual experiences of HIV-positivity. Importantly, the relationship is not unidirectional: HIV/AIDS has also been a catalyst for cultural changes. Viewing the epidemic as a concurrently biological and cultural process will facilitate appropriate responses to the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS.