Voluntary HIV Testing, Disclosure, and Stigma Among Injection Drug Users in Bali, Indonesia

Abstract

Recently, large increases have been noted in injection drug use and HIV prevalence in Indonesia. Because voluntary HIV counseling and testing can play an important role in HIV prevention, it is important to understand factors related to its use. The objective of this study was to identify factors related to the use of voluntary HIV testing among drug users. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of 40 drug users in the Denpasar area of Bali, Indonesia. Drug users may be interested in testing if they have enough information about AIDS to know that they are at risk and that they need this information to protect themselves and others from infection. Barriers toward testing included the fear of a positive result, fear of reactions from family and community members and stigmatization. Other obstacles include a feeling of hopelessness, problems with testing, unavailability and side effects of AIDS drugs and other factors. Many persons would not disclose their status to community members and sexual partners. There were serious concerns about others being ashamed of them and the impact of HIV on relationships with spouses and sexual partners and on employment.

Willingness to undergo HIV testing among factory workers in Surabaya, Indonesia

“…In addition, less willingness to undergo and acceptance of HIV testing may be related to the fear of stigma and discrimination. Studies in Indonesia (Ford, Wirawan, Sumantera, Sawitri, & Stahre, 2004) and China (Ma et al, 2007) have indicated that stigma and discrimination as a result of testing positive for HIV were the major reasons for a lack of willingness to undergo HIV testing. Rogers et al (2006) also reported that even individuals who were willing to undergo HIV testing were concerned about confidentiality and negative reactions from their friends and relatives in the community.…”

Tinjauan sistematis: Efektifitas Palliative Home Care untuk Pasien dengan HIV/AIDS

“…However, in HIV/ AIDS cases, especially in Indonesia, stigma is a big issues, fear of being discriminated resulted for patients with HIV/AIDS tend not to disclose their HIV status to others, not use condoms to prevent HIV transmission, and not seek and receive treatment for HIV, which would affect their quality of life (Ford et al, 2004). Hence, home based care can be one of consideration to design effective palliative care for patients with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia.…”

Results of Social Surveys to Identify Forms of Stigma and Discrimination of People Living With Hiv in Tajikistan

“…• По данным обследования среди потребителей инъекционных наркотиков в Индонезии, около 40% опрошенных указали, что потребители наркотиков избегают тестирования на ВИЧ из-за стигматизации [4].…”

“…Представители этих групп зачастую не обращаются за необходимыми услугами, или откладывают такое обращение из страха быть "разоблаченными", униженными и/или боясь изменений в отношении со стороны медицин-ских работников и, в некоторых случаях, опасаясь судебного преследования и тюремного заключения. [4,23,24].…”