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Relationship Among HIV-Related Stigma, Mental Health and Quality of life for HIV-Positive Patients in Tehran

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Abstract

People living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) face several challenges in terms of the medical management of their disease. Alongside this are stigma, discrimination and psychosocial issues associated with HIV infection. In this study, the relationships associated with HIV-related stigma, mental health and quality of life for HIV-positive patients were investigated. This cross-sectional study examined a sample of 450 HIV positive patients from the Infectious Diseases and Behavioral Health Clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital in the city of Tehran, Iran. PLWHA completed Socio-Demographic Characteristics, Berger Scale Stigma (BSS), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), WHO Quality of life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) and Philips Social Support Appraisals (SSA). Stigma was significantly correlated with psychological variables, social support, and quality of life. A prevalence of psychiatric disorders was reported by 78.8%. Findings suggested that psychosocial interventions reduce HIV related stigma, address psychological disorders and build social support to improve quality of life for people living with HIV.

Resumen

Las personas con VIH/SIDA (PVVS) enfrentan varios desafíos que manejan su condición médica. Además, el estigma, la discriminación y los problemas psicosociales también están asociados con la infección del VIH. En este estudio, se investigaron las relaciones relacionadas con el estigma relacionado con el VIH, la salud mental y la calidad de vida de los pacientes con SIDA (VIH-positivo). Este estudio transversal se realizó en una muestra de 450 pacientes VIH positivos de la Clínica de Enfermedades Infecciosas y la Higiene del Comportamiento en el Hospital Imam Khomeini en Teherán, Irán. Las personas con VIH/SIDA (PVVS) completaron el cuestionario de características sociodemográfícas, Escala de Stigma Berger, Salud general-28, el resumen de la calidad de vida que resumió la Organización Mundial de la Salud y la Evaluación de Apoyo Social de Philips. El estigma tuvo una relación significative con las variables psicológicas, el apoyo social y la calidad de vida. La prevalencia de trastornos psiquiátricos fue del 78.8%. Los hallazgos indican que las intervenciones psicológicas pueden reducir el estigma relacionado con el VIH, identificar los trastornos psicológicos y proporcionar apoyo social que puede mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas que viven con el VIH.

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Acknowledgements

We hereby express our gratitude to the Office of Vice-Chancellor for Research in Tehran University of Medical Sciences for their financial support as well as scientific-ethical approval of this study with the code number 29511. All the staff in Yaran-e Mosbat Club and the HIV positive patients who participated in the research, appreciated for their assistance in the implementation of the present study.

Funding

Funding for this research was provided by the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Number 29511).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department Infections Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS, Iranian Research Center of HIV/AIDS, Iranian Institute for Reduction of High-Risk Behaviors, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mehrnaz Rasoolinajad & Minoo Mohraz

  2. HIV/AIDS & Clinical Psychologist of Department of Infections, Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS, Tehran University of Medical Science & Maternal Neonatal & Fetal Health Research Center Vali Asr Hospital, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex Tehran University of Medical Science (TUMS), Tehran, Iran

    Nasrin Abedinia

  3. Department Psychiatric, Psychosomatic Ward, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Science (TUMS), Tehran, Iran

    Ahmad Ali Noorbala

  4. Discipline of Public Health, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Banafsheh Moradmand Badie

  5. Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Iraq

    Abdulqader Hamad

  6. Maternal–Fetal and Neonatal Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran

    Leyla Sahebi

Authors
  1. Mehrnaz Rasoolinajad
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  2. Nasrin Abedinia
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  3. Ahmad Ali Noorbala
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  4. Minoo Mohraz
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  5. Banafsheh Moradmand Badie
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  6. Abdulqader Hamad
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  7. Leyla Sahebi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nasrin Abedinia.

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All authors declare having no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Rasoolinajad, M., Abedinia, N., Noorbala, A.A. et al. Relationship Among HIV-Related Stigma, Mental Health and Quality of life for HIV-Positive Patients in Tehran. AIDS Behav 22, 3773–3782 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-017-2023-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-017-2023-z

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