HIV-related stigma experienced by people living with HIV/AIDS in coastal South India

Introduction: The present study assessed the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related stigma and the factors influencing it among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) in tertiary care hospitals at Mangalore, South India. Stigma related to HIV still persists as a major public health issue globally and varies from person to person. The various forms of HIV-related stigma are personalized stigma, disclosure stigma, negative self-image stigma, and public attitude stigma. Material and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 409 PLHIV aged ≥ 18 years were interviewed from April 2014 to April 2015. HIV-related stigma was assessed using the “revised HIV stigma scale”. So-cio-demographic characteristics and factors affecting HIV stigma were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. The association between various domains of HIV-related stigma with socio-demographic characteristics was assessed using one way ANOVA (analysis of variance) and student t-test. P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Among the HIV-related stigma domains, disclosure and public attitudes stigma showed higher mean scores followed by negative self-image stigma. Personalized stigma domain showed the least scores in our study. Our study identified that HIV-related stigma was higher among males, older participants, those who were married, of a higher socio-economic status, on a longer duration of antiretroviral therapy (ART), and participants who had travelled more distance to procure ART. Conclussions: Counseling PLHIV and educating care givers and the community is essential for tackling stigmatization among PLHIV. Mitigating stigma through multi-dimensional intervention strategies is crucial to overcome stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.