Measuring HIV stigma for PLHAs and nurses over time in five African countries : original article

The aim of this article is to document the levels of HIV stigma reported by persons living with HIV infections and nurses in Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland and Tanzania over a 1-year period. HIV stigma has been shown to negatively affect the quality of life for people living with HIV infection, their adherence to medication, and their access to care. Few studies have documented HIV stigma by association as experienced by nurses or other health care workers who care for people living with HIV infection. This study used standardised scales to measure the level of HIV stigma over time. A repeated measures cohort design was used to follow persons living with HIV infection and nurses involved in their care from five countries over a 1-year period in a three-wave longitudinal design. The average age of people living with HIV / AIDS (PLHAs) (N=948) was 36.15 years (SD=8.69), and 67.1% (N=617) were female. The average age of nurses (N=887) was 38.44 years (SD=9.63), and 88.6% (N=784) were females. Eighty-four per cent of all PLHAs reported one or more HIV-stigma events at baseline. This declined, but was still significant 1 year later, when 64.9% reported experiencing at least one HIV-stigma event. At baseline, 80.3% of the nurses reported experiencing one or more HIV-stigma events and this increased to 83.7% 1 year later. The study documented high levels of HIV stigma as reported by both PLHAs and nurses in all five of these African countries. These results have implications for stigma reduction interventions, particularly focused at health care providers who experience HIV stigma by association. Le but de cet article est de documenter les niveaux de la stigmatisation autour du VIH rapportés par les personnes vivant avec le VIH et les infirmières au Lesotho, au Malawi, en Afrique du Sud, au Swaziland et en Tanzanie pendant une période d'un an. Il a été démontré que la stigmatisation du VIH a un effet négatif sur la qualité de vie des personnes vivant avec le VIH, leur adhérence au traitement et leur accès à l'aide. Peu d'études ont documenté la stigmatisation du VIH par association comme elle est vécue par les infirmières et d'autres personnes travaillant dans le secteur de la santé qui soignent les personnes vivant avec le VIH. Cette étude a utilisé des échelles standardisées pour mesurer le taux de stigmatisation autour du VIH au cours d'une période de temps. Une conception de cohorte en mesures répétées a été utilisée pour suivre les personnes vivant