The Experience of Living with HIV in Liuzhou, China

Objective— To describe emergent stigma-related themes from individual descriptions of living with HIV in Liuzhou, China. Materials and Methods— Qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 people living with HIV (PLHIV). To provide contextual information, 14 public health personnel and 4 community workers in Liuzhou were also interviewed. Findings— PLHIV experienced enacted, anticipated, and internalized HIV-related stigma, which resulted in negative affective, behavioral, and physical health outcomes, including barriers to health care, preemptive self-isolation, suicidal ideation, and poverty. Conclusions— To lessen stigma, future programs should aim to increase HIV knowledge and empathy for PLHIV among family members, community workers, and health professionals. HIV programs should also include suicide risk assessment for PLHIV, especially immediately after diagnosis and at the onset of HIV-related symptoms.

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