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Affected by HIV Stigma: Interpreting Results from a Population Survey of an Urban Center in Guangxi, China

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An Erratum to this article was published on 13 February 2014

Abstract

We aimed to identify factors related to HIV stigma in Liuzhou, Guangxi province, a city in southwest China with high HIV prevalence. We used a multi-stage cluster randomized sample of the general population to survey 852 adults. We conducted ordinal logistic regression analyses to test factors associated with punishment and isolation stigma. Eighteen percent of respondents agreed that people with HIV should be punished, and 40 % agreed that people living with HIV (PLHIV) should be isolated. Punishment stigma was associated with age, having three or more sexual partners, and TV watching. Isolation stigma was associated with age, urban residence and a history of STI. HIV transmission knowledge was low, and having correct knowledge attenuated the association with punishment and isolation stigma. Despite programs in China to provide care and treatment for PLHIV, HIV stigma is common in this region. Targeted interventions need to focus on fears related to HIV and PLHIV.

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Notes

  1. Chinese translation of the HIV stigma questions.

    Punishment Stigma:

    有人说,那些艾滋病人,一定是做了什么坏事,所以应该受到惩罚。请问, 您同意这种说法吗;

    Isolation Stigma:

    有人说,艾滋病人应该被隔离开来。请问,您同意这种说法吗.

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by the US NIH R24 grant (HD056670) for Partnership for Social Science Research on HIV/AIDS in China and by the UNC Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), an NIH funded Program (P30 AI50410). The authors would like to thank Malena Rousseau and Catherine Bolland Emrick for their assistance with manuscript revision.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Duke Global Health Institute, Box 90519, Durham, NC, 27708, USA

    Laurie Abler

  2. Department of Social Medicine, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Gail Henderson

  3. Department of Sociology, Shan Dong University, Shan Dong, China

    Xin Wang

  4. Department of Health Behavior, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Matthew Avery

  5. Liuzhou CDC, Guangxi, China

    Yingxia Zhang

  6. Department of Sociology, Renmin University, Beijing, China

    Suiming Pan

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  1. Laurie Abler
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Correspondence to Laurie Abler.

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Abler, L., Henderson, G., Wang, X. et al. Affected by HIV Stigma: Interpreting Results from a Population Survey of an Urban Center in Guangxi, China. AIDS Behav 18 (Suppl 2), 192–201 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0556-3

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