Background
HIV-related stigma and discrimination permeates at all levels of society to the point that it is widely acknowledged these factors must be addressed to have an effective and sustainable response to the HIV epidemic [
1,
2]. It becomes particularly evident, and challenging, in certain parts of the world where individuals experience stigma and discrimination, criminalization and/or penalization for certain behaviors that may be considered both socially or culturally unacceptable and may increase exposure to HIV. In the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, for example, a 2011 report found that half of the countries had laws that acted as barriers to HIV-related prevention, treatment and care [
3]. Indeed, these laws penalize, and/or criminalize key populations and their behaviours and practices such as homosexuality and sex work. These laws are inspired mainly by cultural and religious beliefs which consider premarital sex and same-sex as sinful behaviours and are subject to the death penalty in some MENA countries [
4]. According to these religious beliefs, faith and religious practice are the best ways to safeguard populations against HIV infection. Although male circumcision, which is widely practiced in these countries, is a well-demonstrated biological mechanism to reduce HIV infections, adopting a strategy based on religious principles have shown its limits as the MENA region is the region that has seen the highest rise in number of new infections since 2001 [
5].
HIV epidemiological data from the MENA region must be considered within its socio-economic and political setting. This geographic region is comprised of economically diverse countries, 10% of the global population between 15 and 49 years old, and a chaotic social and political environment which has had severe impacts on efforts to address public health issues such as HIV [
6,
7]. Although HIV prevalence is low in the general population (0.1%), new HIV infections have increased by 12% since 2010, AIDS-related mortality has increased by 11% since 2010, and the percentage of people living with HIV (PLHIV) accessing antiretroviral treatment remains severely inadequate at 32% [
8,
9]. According to 2017 data, new HIV infections are largely concentrated among clients of sex workers and sexual partners of individuals belonging to other key populations, sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM), and people who inject drugs [
8]. A review published in 2016 on trends in HIV epidemiology in the MENA region highlighted the difficulty of obtaining reliable information on transmission routes due to inadequate surveillance systems and, in particular, cultural and social norms and policies that marginalize, penalize, and/or criminalize behaviors which may lead to lack of disclosure of transmission routes [
6].
Morocco is among a few number of countries in the region that have initiated a strong response to the HIV epidemic in the last decades. Morocco has an estimated 21,000 PLHIV and HIV prevalence in the general population is estimated to be < 0.1% [
10]; 67% of new HIV infections occurs among key populations and their sexual partners. The bolstering of the national surveillance system [
11], development of national harm reduction strategies [
8], implementation of community-based education interventions and testing [
12] and harm reduction advocacy and services [
13], advocacy for rights for PLHIV [
14] and most recently a pilot PrEP project [
15] have all contributed to the national HIV response. Despite these advances, key populations in Morocco and elsewhere continue to disproportionately bear the burden of HIV and experience stigma and discrimination [
16‐
18].
HIV-related stigma and its deleterious effects on the overall well-being of PLHIV as well as their access to testing and treatment has been well documented since the beginning of the epidemic [
19‐
22]. Adding further complexity is the acknowledgement that PLHIV may engage in behaviors that are regarded as unacceptable in mainstream society such as injection drug use and sex work, resulting in “layered stigma” [
20] or “intersectional stigma” [
21]. Some authors, however, suggest that the difficulty of “defining, measuring, assessing impact of, and reducing stigma” may be the reasons behind the failure or lack of effective actions [
22]. Stigma, which has been defined as an “attribute that makes him [an individual] different from others in the category of persons available for him to be, and of a less desirable kind” [
23], has been categorized into two forms [
24]: “external” or “enacted” stigma which refers to the experience of discrimination and “internal” or “felt” stigma refers to the feelings of blame or guilt associated with HIV status and fear of discrimination.
Internal and external stigma are inevitably linked as experienced stigma and discrimination may be internalized and this in turn can have an effect on how PLHIV perceive themselves and their disease. Such a dynamic between internal and external stigma ultimately impacts personal and social relationships and health seeking behavior [
25]. Internal stigma has been associated with psychosocial factors, such as depression, low self-esteem, social isolation, and psychological distress [
26‐
29]. Behavioral effects of internal stigma have also been reported, including delay in seeking healthcare, poor treatment adherence, and overall poor physical health [
27,
30‐
33].
Given that the HIV epidemic in Morocco is largely concentrated among key populations who already face social exclusion, and that this may further be compounded and reinforced by HIV-related stigma, it is crucial to evaluate and address stigma to improve the quality of life of PLHIV and facilitate their entry and retention in the care continuum. Although there is a growing body of literature documenting and exploring stigma among PLHIV, there is a paucity of data from Morocco. The present study measures and identifies factors associated with an internal stigma score among PLHIV in Morocco, which may be used to inform the development of effective strategies to reduce stigma and thus improve health outcomes and overall well-being for PLHIV.
Methods
The People Living with HIV Stigma Index was used to collect data for this study. The Stigma Index is an international initiative launched in 2004 by various organizations (Global Network of People Living with HIV, International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS) to document the various experiences of PLHIV related to stigma and discrimination. The PLHIV Stigma index (
http://www.stigmaindex.org/) is one among many validated instruments used to collect evidence of stigma and discrimination among PLHIV, to advocate for the human rights of PLHIV and to inform the development of effective strategies to reduce stigma experienced among key populations [
34]. The overall objective of implementing the Stigma Index in Morocco was to have a more precise measure of the stigma and discrimination experienced by PLHIV in Morocco. Specific objectives included exploration of internal stigma. The study, which received ethics approval from the Casablanca Biomedical Research Ethics Committee, was conducted between September and October 2016. Although a qualitative study was also conducted within the context of this project, the present study focuses on the quantitative study data.
Study preparation
A steering committee (SC), chaired by the national AIDS program and UNAIDS-Morocco, was commissioned to recruit the research team, validate the study design, review the results, provide recommendations and suggest interventions to address HIV-related stigma based on study results. The Research Department of Association de Lutte Contre le Sida (ALCS), the first NGO operating in HIV/AIDS in Morocco and in the MENA region, and founding member of Coalition PLUS, was selected by the SC to conduct the survey. A 3-day workshop took place for the development of a training module on stigma, the adaptation of the Stigma Index protocol to the local context and the management of ethical aspects. Subsequently, 15 interviewers living with HIV and 5 supervisors were selected and trained over 2 days by ALCS’s team to administer the questionnaire. Interviewers and supervisors were recruited via organizations known for their implication and work with PLHIV and selected by a recruitment committee.
Ethical approval was received by the Casablanca Biomedical Research Ethics Committee (IRB00002504) in the he Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Casablanca at the Hassan II university in Casablanca. Informed written consent was obtained from all participants.
Sample size and site selection
Inclusion criteria to participate in the study were: being a PLHIV, being 18 years or older, being followed in a center that provides care for PLHIV (regardless of treatment) and providing consent to participate in the study. A cluster sampling method was used to recruit participants in medical care centers across 8 cities in Morocco. A study sample size of 640 was determined (see supplementary information for details regarding sample size calculation and distribution per study site) and a total of 9 sites were selected to recruit participants (Casablanca, Agadir, Rabat, Marrakech (2 sites), Fez, Tangier, Nador and Beni Mellal). These sites were specifically selected to obtain a nationally representative sample of PLHIV. A randomly drawn cluster of 10 PLHIV, consisting of 5 men and 5 women, was drawn at each participating medical care center among the outpatients scheduled for a visit on that specific day. In the event that one or more of the people selected refused to participate, another draw was conducted to complete the cluster.
Measures
The People Living with HIV Stigma Index questionnaire was adapted and translated into French and Moroccan Arabic dialect “darija”, then tested through a dozen interviews with PLHIV in Casablanca.
Dependent variable
Internal stigma was evaluated in the questionnaire with the following question: “Over the last 12 months have you felt one of the following feelings due to your serological status”. The seven feelings or beliefs were as follows: I feel ashamed, I feel guilty, I blame myself, I blame others, I have low self-esteem, I feel that I should be punished, and I want to commit suicide. We created an internal stigma score with 1 point added for each of these items.
The internal stigma score was compiled as a score ranging from 0 to 7 to take account increasing levels of internal stigma, wherein a higher score indicated higher levels of internal stigma.
Independent variables
The People Living with HIV Stigma Index questionnaire collected information across several themes including: sociodemographic characteristics (sex, age, highest level of formal education completed, employment status, job loss in the last 12 months, average household income in the last 12 months, relationship status, belonging to at least one key population (MSM, homosexual or lesbian, trans, sex worker or injecting drug user)), number of years living with HIV, experiences with stigma and discrimination (the reactions of other adult family members when they first knew about HIV status, experience of psychological pressure or manipulation in which HIV-positive status was used by spouse or partner in the last 12 months, avoiding HIV prevention, testing or treatment services for fear of stigmatization by staff, being denied health services (including dental care) because of HIV status, having confronted, challenged or educated someone who was stigmatizing and/or discriminating [the participant] and perceived health status.
Effects or consequences of internal stigma were evaluated based upon 10 affirmations to the following question: “Over the last 12 months, have you done one of the following due to your serological status?”. The affirmations were as follows: I chose not to go to social gatherings, I isolated myself from my family and/or my friends, I decided to stop working, I decided to not ask for work or a promotion, I quit school/training or I did not take advantage of an educational/training opportunity, I decided not to get married, I decided not to have sexual relations, I decided to not have (more) children, I have avoided going to a local health center when I needed, and I have avoided to go to the hospital when I needed.
Data analysis
Continuous variables were reported as median with IQR and categorical variables as frequencies. Negative binomial regression models with the estimation of Incidence Rate Ratios (IRR) were used to identify characteristics associated with the internal stigma score. Variables with a p-value lower than 0.25 in the bivariable analysis were considered eligible to enter the multivariable model. A backward procedure based on the Likelihood Ratio Chi-2 test was used to select variables for the final model. The final model selection was based on statistical significance (p < 0.05) and/or pertinence of the variables.
Data analysis was carried out using Stata/SE 14.0 software (StataCorp LP, College Station, USA).
Conclusions
Although Morocco is recognized for its national response to the HIV epidemic [
67], the present analysis suggests that the national response must also urgently address HIV-related stigma that is prevalent among PLHIV, to improve linkage and retention in care, and further accelerate efforts to end the HIV epidemic in this country and meet UNAIDS 90–90-90 goals [
64]. Interventions cannot be limited to the individual level [
40,
41], but must also target community, structural and policy levels. Indeed, multi-level interventions are necessary to address the social and structural inequalities that create and reinforce stigma and discrimination experienced by PLHIV [
1]. This framework should guide future research studies. Community-based research may be particularly adapted for further exploring ways to address HIV-related stigma, given the inherent implication of stakeholders at all levels (communities, healthworkers, policymakers, researchers, etc).
Empowerment and mobilization of PLHIV and communities has been a driving force in the history of the HIV epidemic, and their role in drawing attention to and implementing strategies to reduce HIV-related and intersectional stigma cannot be overlooked. The results presented in this study, and others, should be used to inform culturally adapted interventions, programs and political policies with the larger aim of changing the economic, social and political environments to protect the rights and improve the quality of life of PLHIV and key populations.
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