Stigma, discrimination and non-disclosure among young people living with HIV in Lagos, Nigeria

Introduction: young people living with HIV (YPLH) constitute a significant population towards ending the AIDS epidemic. About half of YPLH are undiagnosed and one-third of new infections occurring among them. Stigma and discrimination remaina predominant enigma in the social response to HIV.

Methods: this was a descriptive cross-sectional study among 124 YPLH aged 15-24 years selected by non-probability sampling from four antiretroviral centres targeted at young people across Lagos State. Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained. Data analysis was done using Epi info software version 7 and the level of significance was set at p<0.05.

Results: the mean age of the participants was 19.4±3.2 years. Among the stigma variants, public stigma was the highest (48.4%), followed by anticipated stigma (20.2%), internalized stigma (14.5%), and enacted stigma (10.7%) while 7.3% of respondents experienced all forms. Thirty-seven percent of respondents had experienced one form of discrimination, with the most common form being 'treated with hostility by strangers´ (14.5%). The disclosure level was 56.5%. The most predominant reasons for non-disclosure were fear of rejection by other people (57.3%). Diagnosis at an earlier age and living with a single parent were associated with lower disclosure levels (p‹0.001).

Conclusion: overall stigma levels were found to be low, with differences in the individual stigma variants. The most common form of HIV-related discrimination reported in this study was being treated with hostility by strangers. Fear of rejection by other people was the main reason for non-disclosure among YPLH. The use of a multidisciplinary approach is needed to reduce the impact of stigma and discrimination among YPLH.