Long-term trends in HIV-related stigma among older adults with and without HIV: a cohort study from Mbarara, Uganda.
Background and Objectives Perceived HIV stigma is a persistent challenge, contributing to reduced antiretroviral therapy adherence among people with HIV. Although perceived stigma declined with treatment rollout, it is unknown if that trend has continued, particularly among the growing population of...
| Published in: | Gerontologist Vol. 66; no. 7; pp. 1 - 12 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Article |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Jul2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=195281446&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 195281446 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00169013 GET jtl: Gerontologist issn: 00169013 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jul2026 vid: 66 iid: 7 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 195281446 10.1093/geront/gnag119 ppf: 1 ppct: 11 formats: tig: atl: Long-term trends in HIV-related stigma among older adults with and without HIV: a cohort study from Mbarara, Uganda. aug: au: Mandell, Chase Seeley, Janet Maling, Samuel Nakasujja, Noeline Paul, Robert Reynolds, Zahra Passell, Eliza Ritchie, Christine S Hoeppner, Susanne S Atwiine, Flavia affil: Medical Practice Evaluation Center, Mongan Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United KingdomSocial Science Unit, Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa Department of Psychiatry, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda Department of Psychiatry, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri–St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, United States Division of Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United StatesDepartment of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States Department of Community Health, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda su: Uganda Self-evaluation Quality of life Social stigma Old age Statistical models Research funding Cronbach's alpha Viral load T cells Questionnaires Multiple regression analysis Descriptive statistics Mann Whitney U Test Chi-squared test Psychology of HIV-positive persons Longitudinal method RNA Conceptual structures Data analysis software Confidence intervals sug: subj: Self-evaluation Quality of life Social stigma Old age Uganda Statistical models Research funding Cronbach's alpha Viral load T cells Questionnaires Multiple regression analysis Descriptive statistics Mann Whitney U Test Chi-squared test Psychology of HIV-positive persons Longitudinal method RNA Conceptual structures Data analysis software Confidence intervals keyword: africa south of the sahara aged copyrightHolder:The Gerontological Society of America copyrightYear:2026 hiv HIV/AIDS https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnag119 inLanguage:en Longitudinal analysis publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42213586/ social stigma Stigmatization Sub-Saharan Africa uganda africa south of the sahara aged copyrightHolder:The Gerontological Society of America copyrightYear:2026 hiv HIV/AIDS https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnag119 inLanguage:en Longitudinal analysis publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42213586/ social stigma Stigmatization Sub-Saharan Africa uganda ab: Background and Objectives Perceived HIV stigma is a persistent challenge, contributing to reduced antiretroviral therapy adherence among people with HIV. Although perceived stigma declined with treatment rollout, it is unknown if that trend has continued, particularly among the growing population of older adults with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Research Design and Methods We analyzed data from 6 waves of data collection over 9 years in a cohort of older adults with and without HIV in Uganda. Participants completed a standardized 15-item perceived stigma questionnaire at each visit. We fitted generalized estimating equations to characterize trends in stigma over time, stratified by HIV serostatus. Results We analyzed follow-up data on 271 individuals with a median duration of 9 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 8–9). Approximately 51% were people with HIV, 47% were women, and the median age was 51 years (IQR: 48–55) at baseline. Compared to 2015, perceived stigma decreased among people with HIV through 2018 with further declines up to 2024 (p < .05 for all comparisons). By contrast, among people without HIV, after a decrease from 2015 to 2018 (p < .05), perceived stigma increased substantially, such that levels in 2022 were similar to 2015 (p = .92). Discussion and Implications Perceived stigma has decreased over the past decade among older people with HIV but remains at a similar level in the early 2020s as in 2015 among those without HIV in Uganda. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining HIV sensitization efforts in the general population, even in an era with decreasing HIV-related deaths. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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