Combating HIV stigma in health care settings: what works?

Abstract

The purpose of this review paper is to provide information and guidance to those in the health care setting about why it is important to combat HIV-related stigma and how to successfully address its causes and consequences within health facilities. Research shows that stigma and discrimination in the health care setting and elsewhere contributes to keeping people, including health workers, from accessing HIV prevention, care and treatment services and adopting key preventive behaviours.Studies from different parts of the world reveal that there are three main immediately actionable causes of HIV-related stigma in health facilities: lack of awareness among health workers of what stigma looks like and why it is damaging; fear of casual contact stemming from incomplete knowledge about HIV transmission; and the association of HIV with improper or immoral behaviour.To combat stigma in health facilities, interventions must focus on the individual, environmental and policy levels. The paper argues that reducing stigma by working at all three levels is feasible and will likely result in long-lasting benefits for both health workers and HIV-positive patients. The existence of tested stigma-reduction tools and approaches has moved the field forward. What is needed now is the political will and resources to support and scale up stigma-reduction activities throughout health care settings globally.

Social-ecological factors associated with selling sex among men who have sex with men in Jamaica: results from a cross-sectional tablet-based survey

“…police) to reduce violence and increase access to justice for MSM in Jamaica [72]. Finally, healthcare providers could benefit from interventions to reduce intersecting stigma to better care for MSM who sell sex [73]. Ultimately, challenging social and structural contexts of stigma and violence targeting MSM – and particularly MSM who sell sex – in Jamaica is necessary to increase health, human rights, and reduce HIV vulnerabilities.…”

Implementation Process of a Canadian Community-based Nurse Mentorship Intervention in HIV Care

“…Communitybased research emphasizes engagement of community partners in all aspects of the research process from inception and design to dissemination of findings Israel, Eng, Schulz, & Parker, 2013). The inclusion of PLWH as researchers and advisors and as participants and guest speakers ensured that the research was guided by the principles of Greater Involvement of People living with HIV/AIDS (GIPA; Nyblade, Stangl, Weiss, & Ashburn, 2009;Syed, Sulaiman, Hassali, & Lee, 2013). GIPA principles have been widely recognized as good practice in programming and policy that involves and acknowledges the rights of those affected by HIV to have opportunities to contribute in the decision-making that affects their lives.…”

A generation at risk: a cross-sectional study on HIV/AIDS knowledge, exposure to mass media, and stigmatizing behaviors among young women aged 15–24 years in Ghana

“…Factors contributing to HIV and AIDS stigma and discrimination include lack of education and knowledge concerning the etiology of HIV and AIDS and its mode of transmission [11], misconceptions concerning the transmission, the life-threatening nature of the disease, and the epidemiology of the disease [12–16]. …”