HIV-related stigma and non-adherence to antiretroviral medications among people living with HIV in a rural setting

HIV and intersectional stigma among people living with HIV and healthcare workers and antiretroviral therapy adherence in the Dominican Republic

BACKGROUND

HIV-related stigma, discrimination, and social marginalization undermines optimal HIV care outcomes. More research examining the impact of HIV-related stigma, discrimination, other interlocking forms of oppression, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence is needed to optimize HIV treatment programming. This study uses data from two clinics in the Dominican Republic to examine client and healthcare worker (HCW) perceptions of HIV and intersectional stigmas among people living with HIV.

METHODS

Surveys exploring demographics, HIV-related stigma, various dimensions of discrimination (race/ethnicity, HIV status, sexual orientation), healthcare engagement, and medication adherence were collected from 148 clients and 131 HCWs. Analysis of variance was conducted to examine differences in stigma by clinic and logistic regressions were used to determine predictors of optimal client medication adherence.

RESULTS

Perceived discrimination in healthcare facilities due to clients' sexual orientation retained significance in crude and multivariable logistic regression models and was negatively associated with ART adherence (aOR:0.79; 95% CI:0.66, 0.95).

DISCUSSION

Findings highlight the importance of implementing strategies to address stigma, discrimination, and social marginalization, particularly within healthcare facilities.

Individual and community level factors associated with discriminatory attitudes against people living with HIV/AIDS among women of reproductive age in three sub-Saharan African countries: evidence from the most recent demographic and health survey (2021/22)

INTRODUCTION

HIV-related stigma and discrimination significantly affects health, and well-being, willingness to be tested for HIV, initiation and adherence to antiretroviral therapy, and quality of life. However, the findings of the prior studies revealed that the prevalence of discrimination against people living with HIV is high. Thus, we aimed to assess the magnitude of discriminatory attitudes against people living with HIV/AIDS and associated factors in three sub-Saharan African countries.

METHODS

The appended and most recent Demographic and Health Survey dataset of three sub-Saharan African countries from 2021 to 2022 was used for data analysis. A total of 56,690 women aged 15-49 years were included in this study as a weighted sample. The determinants of discriminatory attitudes against people living with HIV/AIDS were determined using a multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression model. Significant factors associated with discriminatory attitudes against people living with HIV/AIDS in the multilevel mixed-effect logistic regression model were declared significant at p-values < 0.05. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and confidence interval (CI) were used to interpret the results.

RESULT

The overall prevalence of discriminatory attitudes against people living with HIV/AIDS was 28.19% (95% CI: 27.74%, 28.64%). In the multivariable analysis, individual level (being young, being an internet user, being tested for HIV, and having comprehensive knowledge about HIV) and community level (being a rural dweller) were factors associated with discriminatory attitudes against people living with HIV/AIDS.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of discriminatory attitudes against people living with HIV/AIDS in three sub-Saharan African countries was high. Individual and community-level variables were associated with discriminatory attitudes against people living with HIV/AIDS. Therefore, special consideration should be given to rural dwellers and young adults. In addition, better to strengthen the accessibility of Internet and HIV testing services, and improve HIV-related education to reduce the magnitude of discriminatory attitudes against people living with HIV/AIDS.

Risk Factors Associated With Unsuccessful Linkage to Outpatient Hepatitis C Care

Background Modern direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) can treat and cure hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Treatment of HCV at a population level has the potential to decrease the prevalence of chronic HCV infection and sequela. Unfortunately, many patients fall off the HCV treatment cascade and do not complete HCV treatment. As social determinants of health (SDHs) affect HCV acquisition, we sought to evaluate factors that may limit successful linkage to outpatient HCV care. Methods We conducted a case-control study by matching patients who missed and those who attended their outpatient HCV visits in 2018. We matched cases in a 1:1 ratio using propensity scores. Results Of 1,539 patients, 161 (10.5%) did not attend their HCV clinic appointment. Factors associated with a missed HCV visit on bivariate testing included identifying as Black (p=0.03), housing instability (p<0.001), transportation difficulty (p<0.001), history of medication non-adherence (p<0.001), and undergoing screening during an inpatient admission (p<0.001). Multivariate testing found transportation difficulty (p<0.001) and inpatient admission (p=0.002) to be associated with missing their HCV appointment. Patients who attended their HCV visit were more likely to be alive by the end of 2018 (p=0.07). Conclusion Patients who missed an initial scheduled infectious disease (ID) clinic appointment for HCV treatment had higher rates of housing instability, transportation difficulties, and medication non-adherence. Patients diagnosed with HCV infection should be provided additional support as appropriate to address the social determinants of health that may limit linkage to outpatient HCV care.

Predicting salivary cortisol and sexual behavior stigma among MSM in the American Men's Internet Survey 2019

Physiological stress levels in response to sexual behavior stigma among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States (US) are understudied. The current study aims to explore the relationship between sexual behavior stigma and salivary cortisol both overall and stratified by race/ethnicity. If such an association exists, it may suggest that sexual behavior stigma can be physiologically measured or indicated by the presence of heightened salivary cortisol. A subsample of 667 MSM participants from the 2019 American Men's Internet Survey (AMIS; N = 10,129) submitted morning (AM) and evening (PM) saliva cortisol samples using at-home mail-in collection kits. Average daily cortisol and daily cortisol change were calculated; simple linear regressions estimated associations between cortisol measures and sexual behavior stigma characterized in four different ways (ever and recent experience of individual stigma items; average ever and recent experience of three stigma scales: stigma from family and friends, anticipated healthcare stigma, general social stigma). Participants reported a mean age of 36.0 years (SD = 14.9), with most being non-Hispanic white (n = 480, 72.0%), Hispanic (n = 164, 12.3%), or Black/African American (n = 146, 10.9%), and identified as homosexual/gay (n = 562, 84.3%). Reporting ever experiencing healthcare providers gossiping was significantly associated with higher PM cortisol (β = 0.12, p = 0.001) and higher average daily cortisol (β = 0.11, p = 0.004), while reporting ever experiencing police refusing to protect was associated with higher AM cortisol (β = 0.08, p = 0.03) and higher average daily cortisol (β = 0.09, p = 0.02). Recent experiences of stigma were not significant predictors of any measure of cortisol. Measures of salivary cortisol may be used to characterize sexual behavior stigma among MSM populations, however more insight is needed to determine its exact relationship and strength.

Overcoming barriers to patient adherence: the case for developing innovative drug delivery systems

Poor medication adherence is a pervasive issue with considerable health and socioeconomic consequences. Although the underlying reasons are generally understood, traditional intervention strategies rooted in patient-centric education and empowerment have proved to be prohibitively complex and/or ineffective. Formulating a pharmaceutical in a drug delivery system (DDS) is a promising alternative that can directly mitigate many common impediments to adherence, including frequent dosing, adverse effects and a delayed onset of action. Existing DDSs have already positively influenced patient acceptability and improved rates of adherence across various disease and intervention types. The next generation of systems have the potential to instate an even more radical paradigm shift by, for example, permitting oral delivery of biomacromolecules, allowing for autonomous dose regulation and enabling several doses to be mimicked with a single administration. Their success, however, is contingent on their ability to address the problems that have made DDSs unsuccessful in the past.

Factors associated with quality of life, depressive symptoms, and perceived stress among rural older adults living with HIV in the United States

PURPOSE

Rural older people living with HIV (PLH) in the United States are a population of growing size and significance. A better understanding of factors associated with quality of life (QOL), depressive symptoms, and stress in this population-especially modifiable factors-could inform future interventions.

METHODS

Online or on paper, we surveyed 446 PLH aged 50+ residing in rural counties across the United States (Mage = 56, 67% male, 67% White, and 23% Black). Associations between social support, HIV stigma, satisfaction with medical care, discrimination in health care settings, and structural barriers and health-related QOL, depressive symptoms, and perceived stress were assessed using multiple linear regressions.

FINDINGS

Controlling for demographics, greater social support was associated with better QOL, fewer depressive symptoms, and less stress. Greater HIV stigma was associated with more depressive symptoms and stress. Satisfaction with care was associated with better QOL and less stress. Discrimination in medical settings was associated with lower QOL and more depressive symptoms and stress. Finally, experiencing more structural barriers was associated with lower QOL and more depressive symptoms and stress.

CONCLUSIONS

In addition to engagement in care and viral suppression, QOL and mental health are also critical considerations for rural older PLH. Increasing social support, reducing or providing skills to cope with HIV stigma, improving quality of care, reducing discrimination and stigma in medical settings, and reducing or mitigating the impact of structural barriers present potential targets for interventions aiming to improve the well-being of older rural PLH.

A novel psychometric approach to assessing intersectional hiv stigma: the geometric intersectional stigma scales

Recent advances in stigma theories have emphasized intersectionality, but there are currently few approaches to measuring intersectional HIV stigma. Here we present a novel approach to assessing intersectional HIV stigma. Black/African American sexual minority men living with HIV (N = 437) completed newly developed measures of enacted and anticipated stigma along with a battery of instruments to examine construct validity. For each endorsed stigma item, participants rated three personal attributes ascribed to the stigma experiences, specifically race, same-sex sexual behavior, and HIV status. Based on the notion that intersecting orthogonal dimensions such as attributions for experiencing stigma can be conceptualized geometrically, we used the Pythagorean Theorem to calculate intersectional stigma scores. Results showed that the enacted and anticipated stigma scales and the assessment of intersectional stigma attributes demonstrated acceptable response rates, internal consistency and a pattern of associations with correlates that suggests construct validity. In separate tests of construct validity, regression models predicting medication adherence indicated varied results among stigma measures, demonstrating clear advantages to separating the assessment of stigma experiences from the attributes to which stigma experiences are ascribed. Findings from this geometric approach to assessing intersectional HIV stigma were promising and warrant further investigation.

Finding the Right Angle: A Geometric Approach to Measuring Intersectional HIV Stigma

Intersectionality has emerged as theoretically and practically important to advancing HIV stigma research. However, few psychometric measures capture the intricacies of intersectional stigma. Grounded in the HIV stigma framework and contemporary theories of intersectionality, this paper describes a novel approach to conceptualizing the measurement of intersectional stigma. Taking the notion of an intersection literally, that is the point at which two or more lines meet and form a union, we offer a geometric conceptualization for developing a psychometric instrument to measure intersectional stigma. Ratings of stigmatized attributes, such as stigma ascribed to gender, race, sexual orientation, and HIV status are assessed on independent scales to calculate their intersection using the Pythagorean Theorem, c = [Formula: see text] (a² + b²) and its extension to multiple stigmatized attributes d = [Formula: see text] (a² + b² + c²). Data from a sample of Black /African American women living with HIV were used to test the concept of a geometric approach to measuring intersectional enacted stigma and intersectional anticipated stigma. Findings from the test of concept were encouraging and warrant further scale development research.

Determinants of the Discriminatory Behavior Experienced by People Living with HIV in Indonesia: A Cross-sectional Study of the Demographic Health Survey

Introduction:

The discriminatory behavior experienced by People Living With HIV (PLWH) remains an unresolved problem in Indonesia. The aims of this research were to determine the factors associated with the discriminatory behavior experienced by PLWH in Indonesia.

Methods:

This study used cross-sectional design data by processing secondary data from the Indonesian Demographic Health Survey (IDHS) conducted in 2017. The total sample in this study was 15,413 records obtained via the two-stage stratified cluster sampling technique. The variables in this study were knowledge, information, socioeconomic and demographic details and the discriminatory behavior experienced by PLWH. The instrument refers to IDHS 2017. The data were analyzed using a chi-squared test and multinomial logistic regression.

Results:

The results obtained show that approximately 78.87% of respondents exhibited discriminatory behavior against PLWH in Indonesia. Respondents who had more knowledge about HIV [RRR: 25.35; CI: 2.85, 225.18] and who had earnings [RRR: 2.15; CI: 1.18, 3.92] were more at risk of discriminatory behavior than others. Respondents who lived in a rural area were less likely to engage in discriminatory behavior against PLWH than those who lived in urban areas [RRR: 0.51; CI: 0.29, 0.91].

Conclusion:

An increased understanding of HIV-AIDS and Indonesian people's acceptance of PLWH can occur through the provision of accurate information that is designed to prevent discriminatory behavior against PLWH. The government can consider this problem and further related policies so that PLWH can coexist in society and enjoy the same rights as those living without discrimination.

Cumulative Effects of Stigma Experiences on Retention in HIV Care Among Men and Women in the Rural Southeastern United States

The stigmatization of HIV infection impedes every step along the HIV continuum of care, particularly care engagement and retention. The differential effects of various sources of stigma on retention in HIV care have been the subject of limited research. We examined the accumulation of HIV stigma experiences over 1 year in relationship to treatment retention among 251 men and women marginally engaged in HIV care in the southeastern United States. Results showed that cumulative stigma experiences predicted poorer retention in care, with greater stigma experiences related to less consistency in attending scheduled medical appointments. HIV stigma originating from family members and acts of overt discrimination were the most frequently experienced sources of stigma and were most closely associated with disengagement from HIV care. In addition, analyses by gender indicated that retention in care for men was impacted by stigma to a greater extent than among women. These findings reaffirm the importance of HIV stigma as a barrier to HIV care and provide new directions for interventions to mitigate the negative effects of stigma on patients who are not fully engaged in HIV care. Clinical trials registration NCT104180280.