DOI: 10.1177/00178969261484804 ISSN: 0017-8969

Stigma and quality of life among migrant and non-migrant people living with HIV: Insights for health education

Donna Sombrea, Jennifer Power, Joel Anderson, Dean Murphy, Adam Bourne, Thomas Norman
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Background:

Quality of life and experiences of stigma are important indicators of well-being among people living with HIV (PLHIV), yet little is known about how these outcomes vary according to migration and linguistic background in Australia. This study examined differences in quality of life and stigma-related experiences among (1) Australia-born PLHIV and (2) migrant PLHIV, stratified by English language background (i.e. as first or second language).

Methods:

Data were drawn from a national cross-sectional survey of Australia-born PLHIV ( n  = 572), PLHIV who reported English as a first language ( n  = 142) and PLHIV who reported a language other than English as their first language (English as second language; n  = 82). Quality of life was assessed using the PozQoL scale, alongside multi-domain measures of stigma.

Results:

Overall quality of life did not differ across Australia-born and migrant groups; however, differences were observed in the social and functional subdomains, with migrant English as second language participants reporting the lowest scores relative to migrant English as a first language participants. Across stigma domains, migrant participants reported more frequent experience of stigma than Australia-born participants, while migrant English as second language participantsconsistently reported the highest perceived ethnicity-related stigma, non-disclosure of HIV statusto health workers, and experience of discrimination in healthcare services and insurance contexts.

Conclusion:

Similar overall quality of life obscured group differences in social and functional subdomains and in experiences of stigma. These findings indicate disparities by migration and language background among PLHIV in Australia, particularly those for whom English is not a first language.

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