HIV-related stigma and HIV testing: a cross-country comparison in Vietnam, Tanzania, and Côte d’Ivoire

Mai Do, Tulane University
Hani A. Guend, Université du Québec à Montréal

For decades, efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic have been faced with persistent stigma attitudes that are common even in settings where HIV is widespread. This paper compares the associations between and factors influencing HIV-related stigma and HIV testing in three countries with different HIV prevalence: Vietnam, Côte d’Ivoire, and Tanzania. Data come from recent nationally representative samples. Tests of exogeneity are carried out for the two dependent variables. Multivariate logistic regressions will be employed to explore the associations. Results from Vietnam show that HIV-related stigma was not a major barrier to testing. Stigma was significantly lower among males, people with higher education and with daily exposure to the media. HIV-testing was positively associated with education, urban residence, knowing someone with HIV/AIDS, and the number of sex partners. Similar analyses are planned for Cote d’Ivoire and Tanzania. Such analyses will provide implications for stigma reduction and HIV testing promotion efforts.