title: Stigma in Ethiopia: association with depressive symptoms in people with HIV.
abstract: Rates of depression among people living with HIV can be as high as 50%. In many settings, HIV-related stigma has been associated with depressive symptoms which may lead to poor engagement in care and ultimately, poorer health outcomes. Stigma is a major issue in Ethiopia but data examining the relationship between stigma and depression in Ethiopia are lacking. We performed a mixed-methods cross-sectional study to examine the relationship between stigma of HIV/AIDS and depressive symptoms in Gondar, Ethiopia. We interviewed patients who presented for routine HIV care at Gondar University Hospital during the study period, examining depressive symptoms and HIV/AIDS-related stigma using standardized measures. Multiple-regression was used to assess the relationship between depressive symptoms, stigma, and gender. Of 55 patients included in this analysis, 63.6% were female and most participants had limited formal education (69%, less than 12th grade education). The majority reported experiencing both stigma (78%) and depressive symptoms (60%) ranging in severity from mild to moderately severe. Higher levels of HIV-related stigma were significantly associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms (β = 0.464, p ≤ 0.001). Although gender was associated with stigma, it was not associated with depressive symptoms (β = -0.027, p > 0.05). Results suggest the importance of psychosocial issues in the lives of people with HIV in Ethiopia.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Global Health, International Training and Education Center for Health , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA.
authors.forename: Meheret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Endeshaw
authors.forename: Judd
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Walson
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rawlins
authors.forename: Abere
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dessie
authors.forename: Shitaye
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alemu
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: Deepa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D057545:Social Stigma; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Ethiopia; HIV; depressive symptoms; mixed methods; stigma