Stigma and chronic illness: A comparative study of people living with HIV and/or AIDS and people living with hypertension in Limpopo Province, South Africa.
Erhabor S Idemudia, Matthew O Olasupo, Mantwa W Modibo
PMID 30456983WHAT IT FOUND
People living with HIV or AIDS reported more enacted stigma than people living with hypertension, while people living with hypertension reported more internalised and perceived stigma.
The pattern differed by stigma type, not by diagnosis alone.
Key findings
01People living with HIV and/or AIDS reported significantly higher enacted stigma than people living with hypertension.
02People living with hypertension reported significantly higher internalised stigma than people living with HIV and/or AIDS.
03People living with hypertension reported significantly higher perceived stigma than people living with HIV and/or AIDS.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Participants were recruited by convenience sampling from three outpatient clinics in one district, so the findings may not apply to other settings or patient groups. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that HIV or hypertension caused stigma. The stigma scale was originally designed for HIV and adapted for hypertension, with only a 30-person pilot for the adapted version. People with multiple chronic conditions were excluded, so it says little about patients with several illnesses. Stigma was measured by self-report, not by observed discrimination or health outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that HIV or AIDS is more stigmatised overall. The study found higher enacted stigma in people living with HIV or AIDS, but higher internalised and perceived stigma in people living with hypertension.