Factors related to the perceived stigmatization of people living with HIV

Abstract

Objective: Analyzing the factors related to perceived stigmatization of people living with HIV. Method: A cross-sectional study conducted from September of 2014 to December 2015 with users from a specialized service in Minas Gerais. Data were collected through individual instrument application, organized in Microsoft Office Excel® 2010 spreadsheets and processed on IBM® SPSS 23.0. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression method were used for data analysis, adopting statistical significance set at 5.0% (p≤0.05). The study development met research ethics standards. Results: 258 users participated in the study. Most were males between 40 and 49 years of age, single, with low educational level and income. Being between 40 and 49 years of age and having been hospitalized for complications related to HIV were positively associated predictors to increased stigmatization; while not having comorbidities and not being aware of exposure to HIV were predictors associated to reduced stigmatization. Conclusion: Given these results, we highlight that stigmatization can have an impact on the lives of people living with HIV, strengthening their feelings of guilt and shame, which can lead to depression, social isolation and abandoning treatment and clinical follow-up.

Depression, self-concept, future expectations and hope of people with HIV

“…Negative stereotypes, discriminatory and prejudiced labels also contribute to these feelings. Thus, anxiety, loneliness, depression, lack of will to live, low self-concept and social isolation accompany people living with HIV/AIDS (5) .…”

How Indigenous and non-Indigenous women look at AIDS: convergences and singularities*

“…Studies indicate that due to fear of isolation or social rejection, supposedly infected people delay their search for diagnosis and healthcare as negative effects of stigma (16)(17)(18) . In turn, the possibility of being HIV-positive may lead to questions about their sexual conduct, their multiplicity of partners and to whom these practices are being directed (14) .…”

Terapia com antirretrovirais: grau de adesão e a percepção dos indivíduos com HIV/Aids

“…(25,26) As for difficulties to regularly comply with the antiretroviral therapy related to the adverse effects and medicine formats, in a Brazilian study, it was identified that, in a sample of PLHA, 24% of the participants reported adverse events. (27) In a study developed in East Africa, the presence of adverse effects negatively influence the antiretroviral therapy (28) and can affect different areas of human beings, ranging from the physical to the psychosocial. (29) Possible changes to improve compliance with HIV treatment identified in this study were supported by an international study, (30) in which individuals undergoing injectable antiretroviral therapy reported better compliance due to the monthly or six-monthly application regimen.…”