Stigma Affects the Health-Related Quality of Life of People Living with HIV by Activating Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms.
Desmond Uchechukwu OnuStanley S UgwuEbele E NnadozieCharles Tochukwu OrjiakorPublished in: Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings (2022)
Stigma is a strong concern in the effort to manage the impact of many chronic diseases on patients and affects the quality of life (QoL) of patients, but little is understood regarding how this happens. We explored the perspective that stigma reduces health-related QoL (HRQoL) by evoking the traumatic experiences associated with HIV diagnosis. Outpatients (n = 250) receiving HIV-related care were recruited from 2 hospitals in the southeastern region of Nigeria. Participants completed measures of stigma, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and HRQoL. Mediation analyses were conducted using Hayes PROCESS Macro for SPSS. Result showed that stigma was negatively associated with HRQoL; patients who reported more traumatic symptoms also reported poorer HRQoL. Traumatic stress symptoms mediated the path between stigma and all the dimensions of HRQoL. Findings suggest that recognizing and addressing trauma symptoms are important in the management of PLWH. Perhaps addressing trauma would reduce the impact of stigma on HRQoL.
Keyphrases
- hiv aids
- mental health
- mental illness
- social support
- end stage renal disease
- antiretroviral therapy
- spinal cord injury
- chronic kidney disease
- ejection fraction
- newly diagnosed
- human immunodeficiency virus
- hiv infected
- healthcare
- hiv positive
- sleep quality
- prognostic factors
- depressive symptoms
- physical activity
- patient reported outcomes
- stress induced
- quality improvement
- chronic pain
- south africa
- heat stress