Measuring and Addressing Stigma Within HIV Interventions for People Who Use Drugs: a Scoping Review of Recent Research

• Published in: Current HIV/AIDS reports Vol. 19; no. 5; pp. 301 - 311
• Main Authors: Lancaster, Kathryn E., Endres-Dighe, Stacy, Sucaldito, Ana D., Piscalko, Hannah, Madhu, Aarti, Kiriazova, Tetiana, Batchelder, Abigail W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-10-2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavioral-Bio-Medical Interface (RJ DiClemente and JL Brown; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Reviews; Section Editors; Stigma; Topical Collection on Behavioral-Bio-Medical Interface; People Who Use Drugs; Substance Use; Scoping Review; Intersectionality; HIV; Stigma
• ISSN: 1548-3568; 1548-3576
• DOI: 10.1007/s11904-022-00619-9

Purpose of Review
Persistent stigma remains a crucial barrier to HIV prevention and treatment services among people who use drugs (PWUD), particularly for those living with or at-risk for HIV. This scoping review examines the current state of science with regard to approaches for measuring and addressing stigma within HIV interventions among PWUD.
Recent Findings
Sixteen studies fit the inclusion criteria for this review. Half the studies originated within the USA, and the remaining represented four different regions. Within these studies, stigma was measured using various quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. The studies primarily focused on HIV stigma, including value-based judgments, anticipated stigma, and perceived stigma domains. Information-based and skills building approaches at the individual level were the most common for the stigma reduction interventions.
Summary
Adoption of systematic evaluations is needed for measuring stigma, including intersectional stigma, within HIV interventions among PWUD. Future studies should focus on developing multilevel intersectional stigma reduction interventions for PWUD with and at-risk for HIV globally.