High Perceived Stigma Among People Living with HIV/AIDS in a Resource Limited Setting in Western Ethiopia: The Effect of Depression and Low Social Support

Figures & data

Table 1 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of the Study Participants

	Categories	Frequency	Percentage (%)
Age (years)	18–29	107	25.6
	30–38	135	32.3
	39–42	77	18.4
	≥43	99	23.7
Sex	Male	218	52.2
	Female	200	47.8
Residence	Urban	266	63.6
	Rural	152	36.4
Ethnicity	Oromo	358	85.6
	Amhara	46	11
	Gurage	14	3.3
Religion	Protestant	204	48.8
	Orthodox	138	33
	Muslim	42	10
	Catholic	34	8.1
Marital status	Single	103	24.6
	Married	274	65.6
	Divorced	41	9.8
Educational status	No formal education	96	23
	Primary education	101	24.2
	High school (9–12)	62	14.8
	College and above	159	38
Occupation	Unemployed	105	25.1
	Government employee	119	28.5
	Farmer	61	14.6
	Merchant	60	14.4
	Other	73	17.5
Income	<500	238	56.9
	501–999	58	13.9
	≥1000	122	29.2

Table 2 HIV/AIDS-Related Characteristics of the Participants

Variables	Categories	Frequency (n)	Percentage (%)
Adverse drug reaction	No	177	42.3
	Yes	241	57.7
History of chronic illness	No	244	58.4
	Yes	174	41.6
History of opportunistic infections	No	68	16.3
	Yes	350	83.7
Ever diagnosed with TB	No	372	89
	Yes	46	11
Current TB status	No	315	75.4
	Yes	103	24.6
History of hospitalization	No	273	65.3
	Yes	145	34.7
History of psychiatric disorder	No	335	80.1
	Yes	83	19.9
Taking psychiatric medication	No	340	81.3
	Yes	78	18.7
Disclosure status	No	141	33.7
	Yes	277	66.3
Time since diagnoses	≤24	108	25.8
	>24	310	74.2
Duration treatment	<12	69	16.5
	13–24	49	11.7
	≥25	300	71.8
Social support	Poor social support	179	42.8
	Medium social support	180	43.1
	Strong social support	59	14.1

Figure 1 Social support and perceived stigma among PLWHA.

Table 3 Factors Associated with Perceived Stigma Among HIV/AIDS Patients on Antiretroviral Therapy in Nekemte Town

Independent Variables	Categories	Perceived Stigma		COR (95%)	AOR (95%)	p-Value
		Yes	No
Age (years)	18–29	91	16	3.85 (1.98–7.5)	4.88 (1.76–13.5)*	0.002
	30–38	87	48	1.23 (0.72–2.09)	1.34 (0.69–2.59)	0.391
	39–42	51	26	1.33 (0.72–2.47)	1.55 (0.74–3.27)	0.246
	≥43	59	40	Ref	Ref
Sex	Male	151	67	Ref	Ref
	Female	137	63	0.96 (0.64–1.46)	2.10 (1.15–3.82)*	0.002
Residence	Urban	192	74	Ref	Ref
	Rural	96	56	0.66 (0.43–1.01)	0.91 (0.44–1.87)	0.794
Marital status	Single	80	23	1.8 (0.815–3.99)	0.34 (0.09–1.25)	0.104
	Married	181	93	1.01 (0.5–2.01)	1.47 (0.06–3.59)	0.391
	Other	27	14	Ref	Ref
Educational status	No formal education	68	28	0.74 (0.42–1.307)	0.86 (0.32–2.31)	0.764
	Primary education	62	39	0.48 (0.28–0.83)	0.38 (0.15–0.99)	0.05
	High school (9–12)	36	26	0.42 (0.225–0.78)	0.50 (0.23–1.08)	0.079
	College and above	122	37	Ref	Ref
Income level	<500	178	60	1.67 (1.04–2.68)	2.07 (0.93–4.62)	0.075
	501–999	32	26	0.69 (0.37–1.3)	0.65 (0.26–1.63)	0.354
	≥1000	78	44	Ref	Ref
Time of diagnosis	≤24 months	85	23	1.95 (1.12–2.38)	1.09 (0.57–2.06)	0.802
	>24 months	203	107	Ref	Ref
Duration of treatment	<12 months	61	8	4.61 (2.13–9.98)	2.63 (1.09–6.34)*	0.031
	13–24 months	40	9	2.68 (1.25–5.74)	2.38 (0.96–5.90)	0.061
	≥25 months	187	113	Ref	Ref
Alcohol use disorder	No	173	103	Ref	Ref
	Yes	115	27	2.54 (1.56–4.12)	1.2 (0.59–2.43)	0.599
Current smoker	No	148	95	Ref	Ref
	Yes	140	35	2.57 (1.64–4.03)	2.42 (1.19–4.9)*	0.014
Khat chewer	No	175	91	Ref	Ref
	Yes	113	39	1.50 (0.97–2.35)	1.078 (0.604–1.92)	0.800
Depression	No	139	89	Ref	Ref
	Yes	149	41	2.32 (1.50–3.59)	1.86 (1.08–3.19)*	0.024
Social support	Poor	138	41	3.04 (1.64–5.64)	3.45 (1.65–7.23)*	0.001
	Medium	119	61	1.76 (0.97–3.20)	2.22 (1.09–4.54)*	0.028
	Strong	31	28	Ref	Ref
Disclosure status	No	112	27	2.48 (1.49–3.94)	2.00 (1.11–3.59)*	0.024
	Yes	176	103	Ref	Ref

Note: *p<0.05.

Abbreviation: Ref, reference category.