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. 2023 Aug;27(8):2751-2762.
doi: 10.1007/s10461-023-03998-1. Epub 2023 Feb 1.

Characterization of HIV-Related Stigma in Myanmar

Su Aung  1   2 , Nicole Hardy  3 , Joseph Hogan  3 , Allison DeLong  3 , Aung Kyaw  4 , Min San Tun  5 , Khaymar Win Aung  6 , Rami Kantor  7
Affiliations

Characterization of HIV-Related Stigma in Myanmar

Su Aung et al. AIDS Behav. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Characterizing HIV-related stigma and its impacts are important for interventions toward their elimination. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 to evaluate enacted and internalized stigma among adult people living with HIV (PLWH) across four cities in Myanmar using the India Stigma Index questionnaire. Multivariable regression analyses were performed to determine differences in measured enacted and internalized stigma outcomes. Among 1,006 participants, 89% reported any stigma indicator, 47% enacted stigma, and 87% internalized stigma. In regression analysis, city and duration of illness were associated with higher enacted stigma, and younger age was associated with higher internalized stigma. Those with HIV duration > 7.4 years had mean enacted stigma nearly 2 units higher than the overall mean. Internalized stigma increased with duration of illness and leveled off at 5 years. PLWH from smaller cities experienced lower stigma. In Myanmar, nearly 90% of PLWH experience stigma, results that reflect a unique transition point.

Keywords: Enacted and internalized stigma; HIV; Myanmar.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map of Myanmar with the cities included in the study: Yangon, Pyay, Pathein, and Myingyan
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
HIV related enacted stigma.The graph presents frequencies (Y axis) of responses to the 10 enacted stigma questionnaire items (X axis), ordered from most to least frequent
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
HIV related internalized stigma.The graph presents frequencies (Y axis) and relative severities (bar colors according to the legend), of responses to the nine internalized stigma questionnaire items (X axis), ordered from most to least frequent
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Effect of duration of HIV on stigma.The graphs present the effect of HIV duration on enacted (top panel) and internalized (bottom panel) stigma. The horizontal axes represent duration of HIV in log years; 1.0 = 2.8 years; 2.0 = 7.4 years; 3.0 = 20.0 years. The vertical axes represent adjusted difference in mean stigma, compared to the overall mean. The dotted lines represent pointwise 95% confidence bands. In the top plot, those whose duration is more than 7.4 years (2.0 on the horizontal axis) have mean enacted stigma that increases to almost 2 units higher than the overall mean. In the bottom plot, those with duration of 5 years (1.6 on the horizontal axis) reported the highest mean of internalized stigma
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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