Stigmatizing Attitudes toward People Living with HIV among Young Women Migrant Workers in Vietnam

Bibliographic Data

ID15499006
AuthorsToan Ha (0000-0002-0574-0804, University of Pittsburgh, corresponding author), David Givens (0000-0003-3765-0229, University of Pittsburgh), Trang Nguyen (0000-0003-2616-142X, Institute of Social and Medical Studies, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam), Nam Nguyen (0000-0002-4753-7214, Institute of Social and Medical Studies, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam)
Year2022
Volume19
Issue11
Pages6366-6366
Publication date2022-05-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph19116366
PMID35681951
OpenAlexW4281567183
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited45

Despite intensive HIV education and prevention efforts in the past few years, stigmatizing attitudes toward people living with HIV (PLWH) remain a major barrier to HIV prevention and treatment efforts in Vietnam. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of stigmatizing attitudes regarding HIV and identify correlative factors that impact the perceptions of PLWH among a heretofore overlooked demographic in Vietnamese society: women who are migrant workers in designated industrial zones (IZs). A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1061 women migrant workers aged 18 to 29 from January 2020 to November 2020 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Stigmatizing attitudes toward PLWH were measured using a four-item scale. Multiple logistic regression was conducted to examine the factors associated with stigmatizing attitudes. Our findings indicate both substantial levels of stigma persisting among this demographic group as well as the influence of important mitigating factors on the expression of HIV-related stigma. Over seventy-six percent (76.2%) of the participants reported having at least one of the four stigmatizing attitudes. Greater levels of stigmatizing attitudes toward PLWH were significantly associated with lower HIV knowledge, lower levels of education, and identifying as Kinh (the ethnic majority in Vietnam). Additionally, this study found that questions framing HIV infection through a familial lens were significantly associated with lower rates of stigmatizing responses. The high overall levels of stigmatizing attitudes toward PLWH among the study participants suggests that there is an urgent need for the development of culturally appropriate interventions and outreach education activities to reduce stigmatizing attitudes toward PLWH among women who are migrant workers working in the IZs in Vietnam. This study adds to both the existing literature and current efforts and policies around HIV in Vietnam by empirically suggesting that familial-based messaging may be a powerful potential narrative for interventions addressing HIV-related issues such as stigma

Environmental health · Ethnic group · Family medicine · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV · Logistic regression · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Stigma (botany · Vietnamese · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Sex work and related issues · Gerontology