Associations between HIV stigma, gender, and depression among people living with HIV in Hyderabad, India

Abstract

The goal of this study was to explore the association between HIV stigma and depression and whether gender moderated this relationship. The theoretical framework for the study combined an adapted version of Goffman's conceptualization of stigma with gender role theory. We surveyed 150 individuals living with HIV in Hyderabad, India (51 cisgender women, 49 cisgender men, and 50 third gender people) on their experiences with HIV stigma. While third gender people had statistically higher scores for HIV stigma over their cisgender counterparts, the association between each of three different forms of stigma (internalized stigma, perceived stigma, and experienced stigma) on depression was negatively moderated by third gender status. This demonstrates that third gender research participants who experienced certain forms of HIV stigma were less likely to be depressed than cisgender participants. These findings indicate resilience amongst third gender people living with HIV and can be used to better tailor social policies and gender-affirming HIV care programs in south India.

Labor Pains: Work-Related Barriers to Access to Health Care for People Living with HIV in Hyderabad, India

“…Eligibility criteria for study inclusion were that respondents were: (a) residing in Hyderabad or Secunderabad, India; (b) living with HIV; (c) proficient in speaking Telugu or Hindi/Urdu; (d) identified as cisgender women or third gender; (e) between the ages of 18 and 50 years old. 73 The initial study consisted of two phases. Phase one had a total of 150 survey respondents who were living with HIV, including 51 cisgender women, 50 cisgender men, and 50 third gender people.…”

“…Cisgender women and third gender respondents were then stratified by their response scores on Berger's HIV Stigma Scale. 73,75 Two subpopulations were then created for each gender identity. This narrowed the respondents to include experiences of eight cisgender respondents with the highest rates of HIV stigma and eight cisgender respondents with the lowest rate of stigma for a total of 16 cisgender women respondents.…”

“…Two NGOs provided resources for PLWH in Hyderabad; two provided resources for third gender PLWH; the final NGO provided resources for PLWH in rural areas. 73 Promotional materials about the project were distributed at each NGO site and regular visits were made as the recruitment process continued. Snowballing methods of convenience sampling were used to recruit additional respondents to the study by asking those who had been interviewed to suggest other research participants.…”

“…Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was obtained from the University of Chicago in 2015, our partner research organization in Secunderabad, SHARE India in 2015, and Fordham University in 2018. 73 To ensure voluntary informed consent, the interviewer explained ethical considerations, risks, and benefits to research participation. Interested individuals provided written informed consent after reviewing the risks and benefits associated with study participation.…”

Community stigma and discrimination against the incidence of HIV and AIDS

“…Many studies have reported that stigma and discrimination occur within one's family, such as siblings, relatives, and even parents. This often results from the fear of HIV transmission and remains a persistent global challenge in reducing infection rates [11,[15][16][17]. The fear of contracting HIV occurs from a lack of knowledge about HIV and is a driving factor for stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV [14,18,19].…”