Overview
HIV stigma and discrimination refers to the negative attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours directed at people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as the unfair treatment that results from them. It can take the form of social exclusion, prejudice, unjustified fear, and breaches of confidentiality, and it operates at the level of communities, families, healthcare settings, and self-perception. Stigma is widely recognised as a major barrier to the HIV response because it discourages people from being tested, disclosing their status, seeking care, and adhering to treatment. By undermining engagement with prevention and treatment services, stigma can sustain onward transmission and worsen health and psychosocial outcomes, including for children and adolescents living with HIV. Research in this area examines the psychosocial drivers of stigma, its effect on antiretroviral treatment adherence and status disclosure, and strategies to counter it, including the involvement of people living with HIV as agents of change. The journal publishes peer-reviewed studies relevant to these themes, including psychosocial factors influencing antiretroviral treatment adherence, the characterisation of HIV clients as potential change agents for prevention, healthcare providers' practices around HIV disclosure to seropositive children and adolescents, perceptions of HIV/AIDS among student populations, and barriers to implementing screening and linkage to pre-exposure prophylaxis in primary care.
Research published in this journal
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
How this research is being cited
The 12 articles above have been cited 43 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
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2026 · AIDS and Behavior
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2026 · Discover Public Health
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2026 · Discover Public Health
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2026 · International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
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2026 · PLOS One
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2026 · AIDS and Behavior
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Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP): a systematic review2025 · Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services
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2025 · Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on HIV Stigma and Discrimination, linking to each citing work.