Stigma and discrimination experiences of HIV-positive men who have sex with men in Cape Town, South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of HIV-positive MSM and MSW.

	MSM n = 92		MSW n = 330
Characteristic	n	%	n	%	AOR	95%CI
Age
18–20	13	14	19	6	Reference
21–25	33	36	67	21	0.86	0.17–4.26
26–35	30	33	133	42	0.45	0.11–1.91
36–45	12	13	70	22	0.79	0.19–3.34
46 or older	3	3	24	8	0.80	0.18–3.59
Race
African	30	33	233	73	Reference
White	15	17	13	4	2.29*	1.01–5.19
Coloured	28	31	35	11	0.27*	0.09–0.85
Indian	17	19	36	11	0.38*	0.16–0.93
Years of living in CT
Born in CT	63	69	131	41	Reference
More than 1 year	25	27	176	54	1.39	0.11–16.48
Less than 1 year	2	2	9	3	2.46	0.21–28.91
Only visiting CT	1	1	5	2	3.62	0.17–77.44
Education
No schooling	5	5	13	4	Reference
Primary	20	22	108	34	0.27	0.56–1.32
Secondary	58	64	169	53	1.17	0.39–3.49
Tertiary	8	8	31	10	0.67	0.24–1.86
Employed	32	35	91	28	0.77	0.40–1.48
Has children	22	24	209	65	0.19**	0.09–0.38
Married	11	12	87	27	1.25	0.92–1.71
Notes: *p<.05; **p<.01.

Table 2. Health characteristics of HIV-positive MSM and MSW.

	MSM n = 92		MSW n = 330
Characteristics	n	%	n	%	AOR	95%CI
Current perception of health
Excellent	11	12	26	8	Reference
Very good	43	47	80	25	0.14*	0.02–0.90
Good	35	38	185	57	0.12*	0.02–0.64
Poor-Very poor	2	2.2	33	10	0.30	0.06–1.52
HIV-related hospitalisations
Non-hospitalised	33	36	149	47	Reference
One hospitalisation	20	22	80	25	1.60	0.74–3.48
Two or more hospitalisations	38	42	89	28	1.08	0.49–2.38
Taking ARVs	25	27	188	58	1.02	0.77–1.35
HIV-risk history
Has had an STI	59	64	197	61	0.67	0.36–1.24
Received money	26	28	19	6	1.88	0.77–4.58
Given money for sex	26	28	34	11	0.98	0.43–2.22
Injection drug use	42	46	15	5	8.79**	3.70–20.89
IDU sex partner	40	43	19	6	3.51**	1.52–8.12
	M	SD	M	SD
HIV symptoms	7.3	2.7	5.8	3.7	0.96	0.85–1.08
Years since HIV-positive diagnosis	2.7	3.0	2.8	2.4	0.93	0.84–1.02
Depression	12.7	6.3	11.1	5.9	0.98	0.93–1.03
Social support	7.08	2.14	6.7	2.2	0.95	0.82–1.10
Notes: *p<.05; **p<.01.

Table 3. Stigma and discrimination of HIV positive MSM and MSW.

	MSM n = 92		MSW n = 330
Experiences	n	%	n	%	AOR	95%CI
Stigma
Difficulty of disclosure	59	64	213	66	0.90	0.38–2.10
Feeling dirty due to HIV-positive status	34	37	102	32	1.31	0.60–2.89
Feelings of guilt	46	50	148	46	1.00	0.45–2.23
Ashamed of HIV-positive status	41	45	139	43	0.44*	0.19–1.07
Worthless because of HIV-positive status	34	37	121	38	1.13	0.50–2.54
Self-blame for HIV-positive status	42	46	170	53	0.76	0.37–1.54
Hides HIV-positive status	51	55	188	58	0.94	0.42–2.10
Certainty of disclosing to sex partner	59	64	203	63	2.01	0.88–4.56
Discrimination
Talked to a friend about AIDS	53	58	239	74	0.43**	0.20–.089
Treated differently by friends & family	42	46	124	38	1.20	0.51–2.79
No more visiting after HIV-positive status	37	40	107	33	1.13	0.48–2.64
Job loss	41	45	72	22	1.82	.86–3.79
Discrimination experiences	58	64	131	40	1.11	0.51–2.39
Concealment of HIV-positive status	54	59	193	60	0.98	0.45–2.12
Notes: Model controlling for participant race, having children, perceived health, injection drug use and injection drug using partner histories, years living with HIV and HIV-related symptoms.Notes: *p<.06, **p<.01.