Stigma toward people living with HIV among healthcare providers in midwifery hospitals in Shenzhen, China from 2020 to 2023

Abstract Shenzhen, a leading city in China’s Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission (EMTCT) Programme, implemented effective practices to reduce HIV-related stigma and officially launched a comprehensive work plan in 2021. This study assessed the trend of HIV-related stigma in Shenzhen’s midwif...

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Main Authors: Leilei Yuan, Xiaoyue Peng, Dadong Wu, Siqi Chen, Wenting Tang, Hong Wang, Jie Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-02-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-91263-x
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author Leilei Yuan
Xiaoyue Peng
Dadong Wu
Siqi Chen
Wenting Tang
Hong Wang
Jie Zhou
author_facet Leilei Yuan
Xiaoyue Peng
Dadong Wu
Siqi Chen
Wenting Tang
Hong Wang
Jie Zhou
author_sort Leilei Yuan
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Shenzhen, a leading city in China’s Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission (EMTCT) Programme, implemented effective practices to reduce HIV-related stigma and officially launched a comprehensive work plan in 2021. This study assessed the trend of HIV-related stigma in Shenzhen’s midwifery hospitals by comparing two surveys of healthcare providers (HCPs) conducted in 2020 and 2023. The study included 2705 HCPs and used an adapted 15-item HIV-related stigma scale. The results showed a significant decrease in stigma, with the mean stigma score dropping from 2.01 in 2020 to 1.89 in 2023. While most items showed improvement, one item related to prejudice and stereotypes showed a slight increase in stigma. In two items on attitudes toward women living with HIV, HCPs were more supportive of their reproductive rights, but less so toward allowing women living with HIV with children to have more. Training was found to be a factor associated with reducing stigma. HCPs who did not receive training, were older, worked as nurses, or had no HIV patient service experience exhibited higher levels of stigma. In general, our findings suggest that the EMTCT programme may contribute to reducing HIV-related stigma, highlighting the importance of continued training and programme optimization to address persistent stigma.
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spelling doaj-art-e145d1729aa841609e9bd7161cbcae0c2025-08-20T03:04:01ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-02-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-91263-xStigma toward people living with HIV among healthcare providers in midwifery hospitals in Shenzhen, China from 2020 to 2023Leilei Yuan0Xiaoyue Peng1Dadong Wu2Siqi Chen3Wenting Tang4Hong Wang5Jie Zhou6Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical UniversityShenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical UniversityShenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical UniversityShenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical UniversityShenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical UniversityShenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical UniversityShenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical UniversityAbstract Shenzhen, a leading city in China’s Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission (EMTCT) Programme, implemented effective practices to reduce HIV-related stigma and officially launched a comprehensive work plan in 2021. This study assessed the trend of HIV-related stigma in Shenzhen’s midwifery hospitals by comparing two surveys of healthcare providers (HCPs) conducted in 2020 and 2023. The study included 2705 HCPs and used an adapted 15-item HIV-related stigma scale. The results showed a significant decrease in stigma, with the mean stigma score dropping from 2.01 in 2020 to 1.89 in 2023. While most items showed improvement, one item related to prejudice and stereotypes showed a slight increase in stigma. In two items on attitudes toward women living with HIV, HCPs were more supportive of their reproductive rights, but less so toward allowing women living with HIV with children to have more. Training was found to be a factor associated with reducing stigma. HCPs who did not receive training, were older, worked as nurses, or had no HIV patient service experience exhibited higher levels of stigma. In general, our findings suggest that the EMTCT programme may contribute to reducing HIV-related stigma, highlighting the importance of continued training and programme optimization to address persistent stigma.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-91263-xHIVStigmaHealthcare providersMidwifery hospitalsElimination of mother-to-child transmissionShenzhen
spellingShingle Leilei Yuan
Xiaoyue Peng
Dadong Wu
Siqi Chen
Wenting Tang
Hong Wang
Jie Zhou
Stigma toward people living with HIV among healthcare providers in midwifery hospitals in Shenzhen, China from 2020 to 2023
Scientific Reports
HIV
Stigma
Healthcare providers
Midwifery hospitals
Elimination of mother-to-child transmission
Shenzhen
title Stigma toward people living with HIV among healthcare providers in midwifery hospitals in Shenzhen, China from 2020 to 2023
title_full Stigma toward people living with HIV among healthcare providers in midwifery hospitals in Shenzhen, China from 2020 to 2023
title_fullStr Stigma toward people living with HIV among healthcare providers in midwifery hospitals in Shenzhen, China from 2020 to 2023
title_full_unstemmed Stigma toward people living with HIV among healthcare providers in midwifery hospitals in Shenzhen, China from 2020 to 2023
title_short Stigma toward people living with HIV among healthcare providers in midwifery hospitals in Shenzhen, China from 2020 to 2023
title_sort stigma toward people living with hiv among healthcare providers in midwifery hospitals in shenzhen china from 2020 to 2023
topic HIV
Stigma
Healthcare providers
Midwifery hospitals
Elimination of mother-to-child transmission
Shenzhen
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-91263-x
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