High Stigma Levels Associated With Reduced Treatment Adherence Among Female Patients With HIV, Study Finds

The American Journal of Managed Care (8/14, Bonavitacola) reports a study found that “women with HIV who have lower adherence to their medication and who inject drugs were more often to report a high amount of stigma surrounding their HIV diagnosis.” Study participants “were separated into groupings of those who faced a high level of stigma (3%), a low level of stigma (86%), and anticipated stigma (11%) in health care.” Researchers observed that “the high stigma profile was made up of more Black women who use drugs (32% vs 19%), non-Black women who use drugs (15% vs 6%), any drug use (47% vs 25%), enrollment in an opioid treatment program (12% vs 3%), and suboptimal adherence to ART (27% vs 14%) when compared with the low stigma group.” They also noted that “depression was found to be linked with being in the anticipated stigma group and the high stigma group.” The study was published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.