Stigmatization and Discrimination toward People Living with HIV/AIDS in a Coastal City of South India

• Main Authors: Nithin Kumar MD, Bhaskaran Unnikrishnan MD, Rekha Thapar MD, Prasanna Mithra MD, Vaman Kulkarni MD, Ramesh Holla MD, Darshan Bhagawan MD, Avinash Kumar MD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2017-05-01
• Series: Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/2325957415569309
• ISSN: 2325-9574; 2325-9582

Background: The HIV/AIDS scenario all over the world is complicated by the stigmatic and discriminative attitudes toward the HIV-infected individuals. Methodology: In this facility-based, cross-sectional study, 104 HIV-positive patients were assessed regarding their personal experience with HIV-related stigma and discrimination using a Revised HIV Stigma Scale. The association between stigma and factors such as socioeconomic status and gender was tested using chi-square test, and P < .05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A large proportion (41.3%) of the participants were in the age-group of 26 to 35 years. Confidentiality of the HIV positivity status was maintained only in 14.4% of the participants. Compared to females (48.2%), more than half (51.5%) of the male participants had experienced HIV/AIDS-related personalized stigma ( P > .05). Conclusion: HIV-related stigma and discrimination are the major social determinants driving the epidemic, despite the advances in medical treatment and increases in the awareness about the disease.