A loop to be broken in a society: HIV/AIDS stigma and coping strategies

Abstract

Stigmatization is one of the important problems that HIV/AIDS patients face since many years and still a problem in the modern world. Religious or belief systems, fears, cultures and traditions of societies all affect the development of stigmatization. It is reported that prejudice and stigmatization about HIV/AIDS lead to risky behaviors of people, prevent the open declaration of the disease, and that social fear promotes transmission. In the fight toward the stigma with AIDS, nurses will lead on breaking down the wall of stigma and silence. In this respect nurses have important responsibilities and tasks. In this paper, reasons and consequences of stigma associated with HIV/AIDS are reviewed and fight against stigma because of HIV/AIDS is discussed.