Avoidance of health care due to stigma and discrimination (people living with HIV)

Export Indicator

Percentage of people living with HIV who avoid health care because of stigma and discrimination
What it measures

This indicator measures the extent to which perceived stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings cause people living with HIV to avoid seeking health care.

Rationale
  • Healthcare settings are one of the most common places that people living with HIV and those perceived to be living with HIV experience discrimination.
  • Tracking the proportion of people living with HIV who avoid health care due to stigma and discrimination provides managers with information about where to focus efforts to reduce discrimination and perceived discrimination by service providers as well as identifying areas where service utilization by people living with HIV can be improved.
Numerator

Number of survey respondents who answer "yes" to any of the following: Have you ever avoided seeking... 

A. health care

B. HIV testing

C. HIV medical care or 

D. HIV treatment in the last 12 months 

... due to any of the following:

1. fear of or concern about stigma

2. fear or concern that someone may learn that you are HIV-positive

3. fear of or concern about or experience of violence?

Denominator

Number of survey respondents

Method of measurement

For the numerator and denominator. Representative surveys of people living with HIV (for example, PLHIV Stigma Index (1))

(1) PLHIV Stigma Index website: https://www.stigmaindex.org

Disaggregation
  • Age (<25, 25+)
Further information