Patient and Provider Perspectives on HIV Stigma in Healthcare Settings in Underserved Areas of the US South: A Mixed Methods Study

Overview

Journal AIDS Behav

Specialty Infectious Diseases

Date 2021 Sep 28

PMID 34581951

Citations 10

Authors

Kaylee B Crockett

Bulent Turan

Samantha Whitfield

Emma Sophia Kay

Henna Budhwani

Matthew Fifolt

Kris Hauenstein

Murray D Ladner

Joshua Sewell

Pamela Payne-Foster

Laura Nyblade

D Scott Batey

Janet M Turan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Stigma experienced in healthcare settings is a barrier to ending the HIV epidemic. Using a convergent parallel mixed methods approach, we collected qualitative data from 14 focus groups with People with HIV (PWH) and Healthcare workers (HCW) and quantitative survey data (N = 762 PWH and N = 192 HCW) from seven HIV healthcare clinics outside of major urban areas in the southeastern US. Four key themes emerged: (1) HIV-related stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings; (2) experiences of intersectional stigma; (3) disclosure concerns in healthcare settings; and (4) impact of stigma on HIV-related health behavior. Implications for future stigma interventions in healthcare settings include the importance of engaging PWH in the development of interventions, the need for interventions in settings that do not specialize in HIV care, and the importance of engaging all staff when addressing HIV-related stigma.

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