Hispanic persons with HIV have a relatively high median stigma score, and nearly one-quarter report experiencing healthcare discrimination, according to research published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Mabel Padilla, MPH, and colleagues analyzed data from the Medical Monitoring Project, designed to report estimates of experiences and outcomes of adults with HIV. Data from the 2018-2020 cycles were analyzed to examine self-reported stigma and healthcare discrimination among 2,690 adult Hispanic persons with HIV. The median HIV stigma score was 31.7 on a scale of 0-100; women and American Indian or Alaska Native persons reported the highest scores (35.6 and 38.9, respectively). HIV stigma was mainly due to disclosure concerns, such as fearing others would disclose one’s HIV status. Healthcare discrimination was experienced by 23% of Hispanic persons with HIV, particularly among men when compared with women (23% vs 18%), and by Black Hispanic persons than White Hispanic persons (28% vs 21%).
