Impact of Programs Eliminating Negative Perceptions About HIV to Benefit Patients' Health and Wellbeing

Abstract

Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) stigma, which is the social shaming and demeaning of people with HIV, is still a big problem that makes it hard to stop the HIV spread around the world. The stigma associated with HIV is a social or structural problem that arises when a power structure identifies, labels, denigrates, and treats those with the illness negatively.

Objectives: In this research, the HIV Stigma Framework  (HIVSF) was tested on 95 HIV-positive individuals from an inner-city neighborhood in the Bronx, New York.

Methods: We used a study given by a researcher and information from medical records to find out how each kind of HIV stigma affected people (internalized, performed, and expected) concerned People health (PH) and Wellbeing Markers (WBM)).

Results: The results show that internalized stigma is strongly linked with emotional and behavioral signs of health and wellbeing. These include feeling powerless about HIV, accepting it, and thinking it has some benefits. The existence of several Chronic Diseases (CD) and a Clusters of differentiation 4 (CD4) count below 200 are two examples of physical health (PH) and WBM that are linked to both actual and prospective feelings of shame.

Conclusions: By comprehending how it differs, researchers may be able to learn more about how HIV stigma affects health and wellbeing (WB). They could also create more focused aid programs for HIV-positive people.