Investigation On The Status Of Perceived Discrimination In HIV / AIDS Patients And Its Influencing Factors

Background:HIV stigma is one of the biggest challenges faced by all nations around the world among the fight against HIV/AIDS. Although many interventions have been conducted on it, HIV stigma still persists. It remains unknown whether there is any difference between the perceived HIV stigma among Commercial plasma donors (CPD) and men who have sex with men (MSM). Recently, the HIV epidemic in China has changed greatly, while a large number of CPD exists, the proportion of MSM is on the rise. It is urgently needed to investigate the level and influencing factors of perceived HIV stigma, in order to perform effective intervention to reduce HIV stigma in the future.Objective:To describe the level of perceived HIV stigma among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), and identify the influencing factors of perceived HIV stigma. Method:A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used in this study. Convenient sampling was adopted from Beijing Ditan Hospital and Center for Disease Control of Zhenping city in Henan province. Totally 266 HIV positive MSM and 239 HIV positive CPD were recruited. Perceived HIV stigma was measured using Berger HIV stigma scale. A series of instruments which measuring the influencing factors were also finished by the participants. Multiple linear regressions were used to determine the influencing factors of perceived HIV stigma.Results:The average score of HIV stigma scale was (109.53+16.01). Among the four dimensions, the average item score of disclosure concern was the highest while the negative self-image was the lowest. Regression results showed that the influencing factors for total scores of perceived HIV stigma were negative coping, route of transmission, depression, education level, disclosure, informational and emotional support and religion belief. Beside these factors, the influencing factors for the four subscales were residence, marital status, diagnosis time and self-perceived health status.Conclusion:A relatively high level of perceived HIV stigma exists among people living with HIV/AIDS, and the influencing factors of perceived HIV stigma include negative coping, informational and emotional support, route of transmission, education level, disclosure, depression and religion belief.