ali ahmad rafiei rad

HIV / AIDS is a multifaceted biological, social, and psychological problem considerably affecting on the individual and the community. This disease changes a person’s communication by being at the center of a person's social relationship. Disclosure is one of the HIV aspects less researched. The current study aimed to investigate the disclosure issue among female patients in Tehran county. A qualitative methodology and semi-structured interview were used for data collection in the present study. The bullet-shaped sampling was considered as sampling method and sample size was 18 people and they answered questions until theoretical saturation based on informed consent and ethics of confidentiality. Data were collected in spring and summer of 2019. Based on the findings, the experience of the disclosure concept was derived from four main themes and eight sub-themes. The main themes included "disclosure threshold", "fear of disclosure", "disclosure management", and "paradox of disclosure" and the sub-themes covered "dual patient-disease", "border of sense of security and feeling of insecurity", "fear of intolerance", "fear of rejection", "the duality of disclosure", "control of disclosure", "empathy, support", and "exclusion.

In the last two decades, with the discovery and development of HIV / AIDS control drugs, it has become possible to transform it from a deadly and uncontrollable illness to a chronic controlled illness . The emergence of such a situation, along with the social stigma and the complex dimensions of the illness, makes the issue of patients' strategies for life management of particular importance.Examined the illness in a sample of 31 people. The research population was people living with HIV/‌AIDS in Tehran who were selected through behavioral illness counseling centers and purposeful sampling in the 2019-2020 years. The study method was qualitative and with semi-structured interview tools, the collected information was analyzed by three-step coding in a thematic (thematic) manner. Based on the research findings, patients use five strategies to manage life after illness: disclosure management, relationship management, participation in the illness , self-empowerment and recourse to religion. These strategies are abstracted from 11 subcategories and 30 concepts. Based on the findings, AIDS prevention, providing a platform for patients to participate and provide the necessary support can help them in the optimal management of life after the illness and at the same time help them in voluntary activities related to the illness.

HIV-related stigma is a barrier to effective HIV responses among people living with HIV (PLHIV).

The current study aimed at measuring HIV-related stigma, and its associated factors among the general population in the Southeast of Iran.

The current cross-sectional study was conducted on a convenience sample of 900 individuals in Kerman, Southeast of Iran, from July to September 2016. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, including (I) demographic and background characteristics; (II) HIV-related stigma; and (III) HIV-related knowledge. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 20 using descriptive statistics, as well as bivariable and multivariable linear regressions.

Low, moderate, and high levels of stigmatizing attitudes toward PLHIV were reported by 39.1%, 57.8%, and 3.1% of the participants, respectively. Female sex(beta = 0.33, P value = 0.01) and those not having a history of HIV testing (beta = 0.45, P value < 0.001) had, on average, higher levels of stigmatizing attitudes, while those with a higher level of education (beta = -0.97, P value < 0.001) had, on average, lower levels of stigmatizing attitudes.

Gender-sensitive educational interventions need to be developed to reduce the negative attitude towards PLHIV in Iran.

Stigmatizing attitudes among healthcare providers are an important barrier to accessing services among people living with HIV (PLHIV). This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the status and correlates of HIV-related stigma among healthcare providers in Kerman, Iran.

Using a validated and pilot-tested stigma scale questionnaire, we measured HIV-related stigma among 400 healthcare providers recruited from three teaching hospitals (n=363), private sectors (n=28), and the only voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) center (n=9) in Kerman city. Data were gathered using self-administered questionnaires at participants’ workplace during Fall 2016. To examine the correlates of stigmatizing attitudes, we constructed bivariable and multivariable linear regression models.

The mean ± standard deviation (SD) of stigma score was 25.95 ± 7.20 out of the possible 50, with higher scores reflecting more stigmatizing attitudes. Paramedics, nurses’ aides, and housekeeping staff had the highest, and VCT personnel had the lowest average stigma scores, respectively. Multivariable regression analyses showed that prior experience of working with PLHIV (β=-2.48; P=.03), exposure to HIV-related educational courses (β=-2.03; P=.02), and <10 years of work experience (β=-2.70; P<.001) were associated with lower stigma scores.

Our findings highlight the need for health managers to provide training opportunities for healthcare providers, including programs that focus on improving HIV-related knowledge for healthcare providers. Enforcing policies that aim to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination among healthcare providers in Iran are urgently needed.

This study was conducted to investigate the reception of rural women of Eastern Miankouh of Pol-e-Dokhtar in Iran from the TV series Gozar Az Ranjha (Passing through Sufferings), which was broadcasted from channel one of the Iranian National TV (IRIB TV1) during the winter of 2014. A sample of 21 women were selected purposively, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect the data. The criterion for determining the sample size was theoretical saturation. To analyze the data, thematic analysis was used. The findings indicate that the women, in various social situations, actively received the dominant discourse of the film series. In fact, the type of decryption was in a spectrum that we categorized as oppositional, hegemonic and negotiated positions. The results showed that the rural women made modifications based on their own discourse access in the values and ideals of the text, discussed by them based on their own social and cultural milieu. They modified the meanings of the dominant discourse, including dual contrasts, ideal type of womanhood and psychological orientation based on their position, and they expanded and developed new meanings, such as “the decisive role of men” and “escape from sufferings”. The series attracted the rural audience for entertainment, earning pleasure, participating in group discussions, identification with the roles, etc.  Overall, the findings support the theory of ‘active audience’ even for the case of the studied rural women.