Internalised HIV-related stigma associated with physical inactivity in people with HIV and AIDS: A cross-sectional study from Uganda.
Davy VancampfortPeter ByansiEugene KinyandaRichard Serunkuma BbosaJames MugishaPublished in: African journal of AIDS research : AJAR (2021)
Aim: The aim of the current study was to explore correlations between continuous physical activity (PA) levels and HIV-related stigma and differences in HIV-related stigma between those who meet versus those who do not meet the international PA recommendation of 150 min of PA per week at moderate intensity.Methods: 295 people living with HIV (PLHIV) (median [interquartile range] age = 37.0 [16.0]; 67.8% [n = 200] female) from central Uganda completed the Internalised AIDS-Related Stigma Scale (IA-RSS), Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS).Results: There was a significant correlation between the PAVS and IA-RSS scores correcting for GAD-7, PHQ-9 and AUDIT scores (r = -0.15, p = 0.009). The IA-RSS score was also significantly different between those meeting versus not meeting PA guidelines.Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that higher internalised HIV-related stigma is associated with lower levels of physical activity. The current evidence demonstrates the need to explore whether HIV stigma-reduction interventions could improve physical activity participation and consequently physical and mental health outcomes in PLHIV.
Keyphrases
- hiv aids
- physical activity
- antiretroviral therapy
- hiv positive
- mental health
- hiv infected
- human immunodeficiency virus
- hiv testing
- mental illness
- hepatitis c virus
- men who have sex with men
- social support
- south africa
- public health
- high intensity
- depressive symptoms
- sleep quality
- clinical trial
- electronic health record
- case report
- health information