Gender Differences in Perceived Stigma and Coping Strategies Among People Living with HIV/AIDS at Jugal Hospital, Harar, Ethiopia

Figures & data

Table 1 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of PLWHA in Jugal Hospital, Harar, Eastern Ethiopia

Variables	Variable Category	Male (n=206), n (%)	Female (n=206), n (%)	Total (n=412)	p-value
Age (mean ±SD)		45.1±9.5	40.2±8.4	42.6±9.2	<0.001
Age category	21–30	14(6.8)	29(14.1)	43(10.4)
	31–40	59(28.6)	104(50.5)	163(39.6)
	41–50	83(40.3)	54(26.2)	137(33.2)
	>50	50(24.3)	19(9.2)	69(16.8)	<0.001
Residence	Urban	199(96.6)	198(96.1)	397(96.4)
	Rural	7(3.4)	8(3.8)	15(3.6)	0.793
Educational level	Unable to write and read	21(10.2)	45(21.8)	66(16.0)
	Read and write	12(5.8)	6(2.9)	18(4.4)
	Primary	70(33.9)	83(40.3)	153(37.1)
	Secondary	59(28.6)	42(20.4)	101(24.5)
	Diploma and above	44(21.4)	30(14.6)	74(17.9)	0.002
Marital status	Single	26(12.6)	8(3.9)	34(8.2)
	Married	106(51.5)	117(56.8)	223(54.1)
	Widowed	30(14.6)	58(28.2)	88(21.4)
	Divorced	44(21.4)	23(11.2)	67(16.3)	<0.001
Occupation	Gov. employee	35(16.9)	54(26.2)	89(21.6)
	Labor work	45(21.8)	27(13.1)	72(17.5)
	Student	3(1.5)	0(0)	3(0.7)
	House wife	-	47(22.8)	47(11.4)
	Farmer	7(3.4)	1(0.5)	8(1.9)
	Retired	10(4.8)	5(2.4)	15(3.6)
	Merchant	36(17.5)	50(24.3)	86(20.9)
	Others	70(33.9)	22(10.7)	92(22.3)	<0.001
Religion	Orthodox	163(79.1)	122(59.2)	285(69.2)
	Muslim	31(15.1)	50(24.3)	81(19.7)
	Protestant	12(5.8)	30(14.6)	42(10.2)
	Catholic	0(0)	4(1.9)	4(0.9)	<0.001

Figure 1 Coping strategies used by HIV-positive patients in Jugal Hospital, Harar, eastern Ethiopia.

Table 2 Gender Difference on Perceived Stigma Among PLWHA in Jugal Hospital, Harar, Eastern Ethiopia

Perceived Stigma	Total (N=412) Mean ± SD	Men (n=206) Mean ±SD	Women (n=206) Mean ±SD	P-value
Personalized stigma	19.2±4.5	19.4±4.5	18.9±4.5	0.294
Disclosure stigma	21.1±5.5	20.3±5.5	21.8±5.6	0.006
Negative image scale	20.3±4.0	20.4±4.0	20.2±4.0	0.564
Public attitude scale	24.5±6.5	24.2±6.3	24.7±6.7	0.431
Total score	65.3±11.3	64.8±10.8	65.8±11.7	0.407

Table 3 Multivariable Linear Regression Models with Outcomes of Total Stigma Scores and Disclosure Stigma Score for PLWHA in Jugal Hospital, Harar, Eastern Ethiopia

Outcome Variable	Demographic Variables	Coefficient (β)	Standard Error	P-value	95% Confidence Interval of B
					Lower	Upper
Total perceived stigma score	Religion
	Christian	Reference
	Muslim	5.18	1.42	<0.001	2.39	7.98
	Residence
	Urban	Reference
	Rural	13.49	2.865	<0.001	7.86	19.14
	Educational Status
	No formal education	Reference
	Primary	−1.87	1.48	0.210	−4.77	1.05
	Secondary	−2.28	1.64	0.165	−5.48	0.94
	Diploma and above	1.27	1.79	0.479	−2.25	4.79
Disclosure stigma score	Sex
	Male	Reference
	Female	1.58	0.54	0.004	0.51	2.64
	Religion
	Christian	Reference
	Muslim	1.43	0.73	0.049	0.003	2.86
	Educational Status
	No formal education	Reference
	Primary	−0.49	0.76	0.515	−1.98	0.99
	Secondary	−0.19	0.84	0.819	−1.84	1.46
	Diploma and above	2.78	0.92	0.003	0.98	4.58

Table 4 Gender Difference in Coping Strategies Among PLWHA in Jugal Hospital, Harar, Eastern Ethiopia

Coping Strategies	Men (n=206) Mean ± SD	Women (n=206) Mean ± SD	P-value
Adaptive coping strategies	40.9±6.3	42.5±4.9	0.005
Emotion-focused strategies	26.4±4.0	27.6±3.2	<0.001
Use of emotional support	5.1±1.8	5.8±1.6	<0.001
Positive reframing	6.5±1.4	6.7±1.0	0.108
Acceptance	6.2±1.4	6.1±1.1	0.617
Religion	6.4±1.6	6.9±1.3	<0.001
Humor	2.2±0.6	2.1±0.3	0.010
Problem-focused strategies	14.6±2.8	14.9±2.2	0.225
Active coping	5.6±1.5	5.7±1.2	0.712
Planning	6.2±1.2	6.2±0.9	0.606
Use of instrumental support	2.7±0.9	3.0±0.9	0.001
Maladaptive coping strategies (dysfunctional coping subscales)	23.3±4.1	23.2±3.3	0.853
Venting	5.2±1.9	5.3±1.9	0.570
Denial	2.5±0.9	2.6±1.1	0.422
Substance use	2.8±1.5	2.1±0.4	<0.001
Behavioral disengagement	4.2±1.1	4.6±1.1	0.002
Self-distraction	5.5±1.7	5.9±1.5	0.019
Self-blame	2.9±1.6	2.8±1.3	0.108

Table 5 Multivariable Linear Regression Models with Outcomes of Score of Adaptive Coping Strategies, Emotion-Focused Coping Strategies and Problem-Focused Coping Strategies for PLWHA in Jugal Hospital, Harar, Eastern Ethiopia

Outcome Variable	Demographic Variables	Coefficient (β)	Standard Error	P-value	95% Confidence Interval of B
					Lower	Upper
Score of adaptive coping strategies	Sex
	Male	Reference
	Female	2.11	0.58	<0.001	0.97	3.25
	Age group
	31–30	Reference
	31–40	1.94	0.97	0.046	0.04	3.85
	41–50	1.78	1.01	0.078	−0.20	3.77
	>50	2.76	1.12	0.014	0.56	4.95
	Residence
	Urban	Reference
	Rural	−4.33	1.49	0.004	−7.26	−1.39
	Educational status
	No formal education	Reference
	Primary	0.32	0.76	0.673	−1.18	1.82
	Secondary	1.74	0.86	0.043	0.05	3.42
	Diploma and above	2.23	0.89	0.013	0.47	3.99
Score of emotion-focused coping strategies	Sex
	Male	Reference
	Female	1.49	0.37	<0.001	0.77	2.21
	Age group
	31–30	Reference
	31–40	1.29	0.61	0.035	0.09	2.49
	41–50	1.40	0.63	0.028	0.16	2.65
	>50	1.91	0.71	0.007	0.51	3.31
	Residence
	Urban	Reference
	Rural	−2.88	0.95	0.003	−4.74	−1.02
Score of problem-focused coping strategies	Sex
	Male	Reference
	Female	0.46	0.25	0.063	−0.03	0.94
	Residence
	Urban	Reference
	Rural	−1.43	0.65	0.029	−2.72	−0.14
	Educational status
	No formal education	Reference
	Primary	0.48	0.34	0.151	−0.18	1.15
	Secondary	1.07	0.37	0.004	0.34	1.79
	Diploma and above	1.36	0.39	0.001	0.58	2.14