Introduction:

Stigma is a label imposed by society that negatively differentiates some people from others, and may lead to rejection, as is the case for HIV-positive individuals.

Objective:

To explore demographic factors, sexual practices, and disease characteristics associated to perception of stigma in a group of HIV-positive individuals in 2014 in the city of Medellin, Colombia.

Materials and methods:

This was an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study in 217 patients from Medellin diagnosed with HIV. Perception of stigma was evaluated by applying the Berger scale. Summary and frequency measures, as well as binary logistic regression were calculated.

Results:

Average age was 39.3 years (SD 10.79); the sample was predominantly male (83.9%), single (67 %), homosexuals (51.2 %); and 41 % were diagnosed with HIV more than 5 years ago. Perception of stigma was identified in 50.7% of participants, being greater in men (78,2 %). However women were 2.3 times more likely to perceive stigma than men (IC 95% 1,12 - 5,26). Participants in the “separated/divorced/widowed” category were 2.9 times more likely to perceive high stigma than those in the “married/civil union” group (CI 95% 1,02 - 8,44).

Conclusions:

The association between different factors and HIV-related stigma was explored. Our results show that being female has a high prevalence of stigma, as previously described by others. In addition, being separated/divorced/widowed” is associated to perception of high stigma.

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