TROPICAL ILLNESS PROFILES - THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ILLNESS PERCEPTION IN MALAWI

Psychological and social investigations of tropical diseases can make a significant contribution to understanding and managing many illnesse s. One-hundred and seventy-five Malawian university students rated peo pled who suffered from AIDS, malaria, schistosomiasis and the 'common cold', on 11 psycho-social dimensions related to illness. Analysis of variance and factor analysis was used to distinguish distinctive illne ss profiles reflecting perceptions of (people with) these illnesses. R esults suggested that infirmity was associated with AIDS and that the seriousness of malaria was minimized. Within a context of many threats to health the importance of distinguishing between serious illnesses is emphasized for effective health promotion interventions.