Autonomy-Supportive Healthcare Climate and HIV-Related Stigma Predict Linkage to HIV Care in Men Who Have Sex With Men in Ghana, West Africa

Overview

Journal J Int Assoc Provid AIDS Care

Publisher Sage Publications

Specialty Infectious Diseases

Date 2021 Mar 18

PMID 33733909

Citations 11

Authors

Lily Y Gu

Nanhua Zhang

Kenneth H Mayer

James M McMahon

Soohyun Nam

Donaldson F Conserve

Marian Moskow

Judith Brasch

Yaw Adu-Sarkodie

Thomas Agyarko-Poku

Francis Boakye

LaRon E Nelson

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In Ghana, the HIV prevalence among MSM is more than 10 times greater than the general population of adults, and rates of engagement in HIV medical care are low among MSM diagnosed with HIV. Using structured surveys, we investigated the impact of HIV-related stigma, same-sex behavior stigma, and gender nonconformity stigma on linkage to HIV care (LTC) in MSM ( = 225) living with HIV in Ghana. Autonomy-supportive healthcare climate ( = 1.63, < .01), vicarious HIV stigma ( = 2.73, < .01), and age ( = 1.06, p < .004) predicted LTC. Conversely, felt normative HIV stigma negatively predicted LTC ( = 0.65, < .05). Finally, we identified regional disparities, with MSM from Takoradi being 4 times and 5 times more likely to be LTC compared to Kumasi and Accra, respectively. Our findings highlight the nuanced roles of stigmas in shaping the HIV care continuum among MSM living with HIV, while revealing potential gaps in current measures of HIV-related stigma.

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