The prevalence of internalized stigma and its association with HIV viral suppression among fully disclosed adolescents and young adults living with HIV (AYLHIV) receiving HIV care in an HIV clinic in Plateau State, Nigeria

• Published in: PloS one 2024-05, Vol.19 (5), p.e0303360-e0303360
• Main Authors: Osayi, Emmanuel O, Ajayi, Oluseye, Onyeji, John, Isichei, Mercy, Sagay, Atiene S, Anderson, Albert
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult; Adults; Age; Age groups; Antiretroviral drugs; Antiretroviral therapy; Biology and Life Sciences; Cross-Sectional Studies; Customization; Disclosure; Discrimination against AIDS virus carriers; Drug therapy; Education; Female; Females; HIV; HIV (Viruses); HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - psychology; HIV Infections - virology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Hypotheses; Male; Males; Medicine and Health Sciences; Nigeria - epidemiology; Patient compliance; People and Places; Population; Prevalence; Questionnaires; Questions; Self Concept; Self image; Social Sciences; Social Stigma; Sociodemographics; Statistical analysis; Statistical significance; Stereotypes; Stigma; Teenagers; Viral Load; Young Adult; Young adults; Youth
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303360

Internalized stigma, a condition characterized by negative self-stereotyping and social alienation, recently impacted the adolescents and young adults living with HIV (AYLHIV) epidemic curve and treatment adherence. While prior research has focused on the impact of internalized stigma among adults living with HIV, few studies focused on this AYLHIV. The study aims to determine internalized stigma proportion and its relationship to HIV viral suppression in AYLHIV. A cross-sectional study involved 93 fully disclosed AYLHIV receiving HIV care in Faith Alive Foundation in Jos North, Plateau State, from January to March 2023. Internalized stigma was measured using the adapted Berger HIV Stigma Scale under the domains personalized stigma (18 item questions) and negative self-image subscales (13 item questions), measured on a 4-scale of strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), agree (3), and strongly agree (4). Scores summed up to give the domain composite score with a maximum obtainable score of 72 for personalized stigma and 52 for negative self-image. A total of 93 respondents, female-63 (68%) and male-30 (32%), were involved in the study and their mean age at full disclosure was 15.7 ± 2.8 years. During the study their mean age was 19.5 ± 5.4 years, with 62% (58) ages 10-19 years and 38% (35) ages 20-26 years. Furthermore, 70% of the participants had secondary educational status, 77% had viral load results