Perceived HIV Stigma and Associated Factors Among Adult ART Patients in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess perceived HIV stigma and associated factors among adult ART patients in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia. METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 638 participants selected using a multistage sampling technique from July 10 to September 2020. A 12-item short version of the HIV stigma scale was used to measure HIV-related stigma. Data were collected by the interview method using a pre-tested questionnaire. Binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the factors associated with the outcome variable. The strength and direction of the association were measured using the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Statistical significance was declared at P-value <0.05. RESULTS: In this study, 57.8% (95% CI = 54.1%-61.9%) of people under HIV care perceived high stigma and 450 (70.5%) disclosed their HIV status. Widowed marital status (AOR = 2.984; 95% CI = 1.728–5.155), primary education (AOR = 3.36; 95% CI = 2.072–5.42), undisclosed HIV status (AOR = 1.657; 95% CI = 1.121–2.451), poor social support (AOR: 2.05; 95% CI = 1.195–3.433), and being member of an HIV support group (AOR: 0.396; 95% CI = 0.249–0.630) were significantly associated with perceived stigma. CONCLUSION: The perceived stigma is high among adult ART patients in the study setting. Widowed marital status, primary education, undisclosed HIV status, membership to the social support network NEP+ and poor social support were predictors of perceived HIV stigma. Thus, ART patients should be given more psychosocial support to minimize their perceived public HIV-related stigma.