Perceived stigma and social support of older HIV positive female in Hunan rural area

Objective To disclose the status of perceived stigma and social support of the older human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive female in rural area of Hunan, China. Methods Comprehensive HIV prevention system was used to select older female who live in Yongzhou. Information related to the status of perceived stigma and social support was collected. Results The older female infectors reported a significantly higher stigma score of the overall scale than that of older male infectors from the same population (t=11.59, P<0.001), but a lower score in the dimension of blaming (t=-6.14, P<0.001). Participants of Han nationality, had no economical sources, or lived alone had a higher perceived stigma level compared with others (all P<0.05). The results of correlation analysis suggested that the subjective social support had a negative relationship with distance and discrimination(all P<0.05), the objective social support had a positive relationship with blaming(r=0.27, P=0.005),the utilization of social support was positively related to the blaming dimension(r=0.41,P<0.005). Conclusions HIV positive female in Hunan rural area have a higher level of perceived stigma than their male partners but a quite lower level of social support compared with normal older adults.