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. 2024 Mar;28(3):1068-1076.
doi: 10.1007/s10461-023-04217-7. Epub 2023 Oct 27.

Characterizing the Relationship between HIV Peer Support Groups and Internalized Stigma Among People Living with HIV in Nigeria

Tarfa Verinumbe  1 , Anna-Sophia Katomski  2 , Gnilane Turpin  2 , Omar Syarif  3 , Pim Looze  3 , Katarzyna Lalak  3 , Jean Anoubissi  3 , Sophie Brion  4 , Keren Dunaway  4 , Laurel Sprague  5 , Daria Matyushina  5 , Carlos Garcia De Leon Moreno  5 ; Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN); Stefan D Baral  2 , Katherine Rucinski  6 , Carrie Lyons  2
Affiliations

Characterizing the Relationship between HIV Peer Support Groups and Internalized Stigma Among People Living with HIV in Nigeria

Tarfa Verinumbe et al. AIDS Behav. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

HIV-related stigma remains a significant barrier to implementing effective HIV treatment and prevention strategies in Nigeria. Despite the high uptake of peer support groups among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Nigeria, the potential role of such peer support on the burden of internalized stigma remains understudied. To address this gap, we conducted a secondary analysis of the PLHIV Stigma Index 2.0, a socio-behavioral survey implemented by PLHIV led-organizations to assess the relationship between group membership and internalized stigma. Internalized stigma was measured using the Internalized AIDS-related Stigma Scale. Multinomial logistic regression was used to measure the association between self-reported engagement in peer support groups and internalized stigma adjusting for age, education, duration since HIV diagnosis, employment, disclosure status, and sex-work engagement. Of the 1,244 respondents in this study, 75.1% were engaged in HIV peer support groups. Over half (55.5%) and about one-fourth (27.3%) demonstrated low/moderate and high levels of internalized stigma, respectively. PLHIV engaged in HIV peer support groups were less likely to report both low/moderate (versus no) (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 0.47 [95% CI: 0.27 to 0.81]; p = 0.006) and high (versus no) (aOR: 0.30 [95% CI: 0.17 to 0.53]; p < 0.001) levels of internalized stigma compared to those not engaged. In this study, the burden of internalized stigma is high among PLHIV in Nigeria. However, engagement in peer support groups appears to mitigate these stigmas. Stigma mitigation strategies to increase peer support may represent a critical tool in decreasing sustained HIV treatment gaps among PLHIV in Nigeria.

Keywords: HIV; Nigeria; Peer Support; Social Capital; Stigma; sub-Saharan Africa.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual model illustrating the hypothesized relationship between engagement in HIV peer support group and internalized stigma
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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