Perceptions of university athletes engaged in soccer, rugby and netball towards people living with HIV

Abstract

This article explores knowledge and perceptions of university athletes towards people living with HIV. Data were collected by using a questionnaire with athletes involved in soccer, netball and rugby at a South African tertiary institution. Knowledge about HIV and ways of transmission was relatively high. The risk of HIV transmission in sport was considered as moderate (51.7%), low (33.3%) and high (15%). Participants were equally divided about athletes' obligation to be tested. A great majority agreed that they could play with someone who was HIV-positive. However, 23.7% were unsure whether they would stay away from a player with HIV in the field of sport and 8.5% admitted that they would rather stay away. Although most of the participants (83.6%) stated willingness to be tested, 60.7% admitted to have tested regularly. Most of the participants stated that they would try to support a teammate living with HIV, whereas 11.7% perceived that their team had a negative attitude towards athletes with HIV. Few would disclose to their team if they tested HIV-positive, and 8.2% stated that their team attended a HIV-education programme. In conclusion, although knowledge was relatively high, risk perceptions, fears and attitudes towards testing need to be addressed in the sport-specific context. Sport teams and trainers should be capacitated to provide a supportive environment and to facilitate peer education. More research is needed on mediator effects, such as group cohesion, support and communication in the sport teams, and on social–cultural perceptions related to body and physical interaction, which comes into play using games and sports in HIV education.

Keywords:

• HIV education
• prevention
• stigma
• sport
• tertiary institution