Work

Stigma Is Associated with Delays in Seeking Care among HIV-Infected People in India

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Stigma shapes the lives of people living with HIV and may affect their willingness to seek medical care. But treatment delays can compromise health and increase the risk of transmission to others. PURPOSE: To examine whether the 4 stigma manifestations--enacted (discrimination), vicarious (hearing stories of discrimination), felt normative (perceptions of stigma's prevalence), and internalized (personal endorsement of stigma beliefs)--were linked with delays in seeking care among HIV-infected people in India. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 961 HIV-positive men and women in Mumbai and Bengaluru. RESULTS: Enacted and internalized stigmas were correlated with delays in seeking care after testing HIV positive. Depression symptoms mediated the associations of enacted and internalized stigmas with care-seeking delays, whereas efforts to avoiding disclosing HIV status mediated only the association between internalized stigma and care-seeking delays. CONCLUSION: It is vital to develop stigma reduction interventions to ensure timely receipt of care.

Source: Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (JIAPAC)

DOI: 10.1177/1545109711432315

Authors: Wayne T. Steward, Shalini Bharat, Jayashree Ramakrishna, Elsa Heylen, Maria L. Ekstrand

Institutions: University of California, San Francisco, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, St. John's Research Institute, University of California, Berkeley

Language: English

Topic: HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions

Subfield: Infectious Diseases

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,000