Factors Associated With HIV-Related Stigma Among Indonesian Healthcare Workers: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey

Background: Despite worldwide advances in HIV care and growing scientific knowledge about HIV, stigma and prejudice continue to hinder people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) from seeking treatment and care. HIV-related stigma among healthcare workers in Indonesia has been investigated and measured in only a few empirical studies. Purpose: This study was developed to identify factors related to holding stigmatizing attitudes toward PLWHA among professional healthcare providers in Indonesia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey approach using convenience and snowball sampling techniques was used. Data were collected in February and March 2022. All of the participants were healthcare workers in Indonesia who had completed an online survey that collected demographic data and measured HIV-related stigma, fear of HIV transmission, and HIV-related knowledge. Bivariate analysis and multiple linear regression were used to investigate the association between the independent and dependent variables. Results: The study enrolled 252 participants, including eight physicians (3.2%), 200 nurses (79.4%), and 44 midwives (17.5%). Over two thirds of the participants (65.1%) had no formal HIV training. Stigmatizing attitudes were associated with lower levels of HIV knowledge (B = -0.480, p < .01), fear of becoming infected with the HIV virus (B = 0.354, p < .05), and type of HIV care setting (B = -2.913, p < .05). Of the three participant categories, physicians had the highest levels of both HIV knowledge and PLWHA-related stigma. Conclusions: The findings indicate many healthcare workers in Indonesia receive limited formal training on HIV, have low levels of HIV knowledge, and fear HIV transmission. Therefore, providing comprehensive and up-to-date education about HIV for health workers and proper personal protective equipment should be incorporated into programs aimed at reducing stigmatizing attitudes against patients with HIV among healthcare workers in Indonesia.