Assessing knowledge, acts of discrimination, stigmatizing attitudes and its associated factors towards people living with HIV (PLHIV) among family medicine trainees in Malaysia
Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related stigmatisation and discrimination adversely affect health outcomes in terms of timely diagnosis, treatment and care. Despite global efforts, they remain common among healthcare workers worldwide. In Malaysia, family medicine specialists are en...
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| Format: | Article |
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Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia
2022
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100396/ |
| _version_ | 1848863313829560320 |
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| author | Chan, Hiang Ngee Mohamad, Anuar Abdul Rashid, Aneesa Ho, Bee Kiau Abdul Aziz Cooper, Alia Mukhtar Aajamer, Haslina Noor Emjah, Ermi Krishnan, Jashithra Syamala Hwee, Gloria Neo Lih |
| author_facet | Chan, Hiang Ngee Mohamad, Anuar Abdul Rashid, Aneesa Ho, Bee Kiau Abdul Aziz Cooper, Alia Mukhtar Aajamer, Haslina Noor Emjah, Ermi Krishnan, Jashithra Syamala Hwee, Gloria Neo Lih |
| author_sort | Chan, Hiang Ngee |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related stigmatisation and discrimination adversely affect health outcomes in terms of timely diagnosis, treatment and care. Despite global efforts, they remain common among healthcare workers worldwide. In Malaysia, family medicine specialists are entrusted with the care of HIV patients at the primary care level. This study aimed to assess HIV-related knowledge, acts of discrimination, stigmatising attitudes and their associated factors among family medicine trainees in Malaysia.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 397 family medicine trainees in Malaysia using a validated, self-administered questionnaire that assessed the participants’ sociodemographic information, HIV/AIDS knowledge, stigmatising attitudes (attitudes of blame, attitudes towards imposed measures, comfort in dealing with HIV patients) and acts of discrimination.
Results: The most common stigmatisation was “attitudes of blame” (mean [SD] score: 3.0 (0.74); range score:1–5), and the most frequent discriminatory act was breaching patient confidentiality (54.9%). Around 82.1% had good knowledge of HIV/AIDS. Married participants and participants who had 7 years or less in service were more stigmatising in “attitudes of imposed measures” towards people living with HIV (p=0.006).
Conclusion: Family medicine trainees exhibited stigmatisation and discrimination towards HIV patients despite having good HIV knowledge. Hence, appropriate and concerted health education should be given to all family medicine trainees to eliminate stigmatisation and discrimination. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:30:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-100396 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:30:56Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1003962023-12-26T04:33:53Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100396/ Assessing knowledge, acts of discrimination, stigmatizing attitudes and its associated factors towards people living with HIV (PLHIV) among family medicine trainees in Malaysia Chan, Hiang Ngee Mohamad, Anuar Abdul Rashid, Aneesa Ho, Bee Kiau Abdul Aziz Cooper, Alia Mukhtar Aajamer, Haslina Noor Emjah, Ermi Krishnan, Jashithra Syamala Hwee, Gloria Neo Lih Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related stigmatisation and discrimination adversely affect health outcomes in terms of timely diagnosis, treatment and care. Despite global efforts, they remain common among healthcare workers worldwide. In Malaysia, family medicine specialists are entrusted with the care of HIV patients at the primary care level. This study aimed to assess HIV-related knowledge, acts of discrimination, stigmatising attitudes and their associated factors among family medicine trainees in Malaysia. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 397 family medicine trainees in Malaysia using a validated, self-administered questionnaire that assessed the participants’ sociodemographic information, HIV/AIDS knowledge, stigmatising attitudes (attitudes of blame, attitudes towards imposed measures, comfort in dealing with HIV patients) and acts of discrimination. Results: The most common stigmatisation was “attitudes of blame” (mean [SD] score: 3.0 (0.74); range score:1–5), and the most frequent discriminatory act was breaching patient confidentiality (54.9%). Around 82.1% had good knowledge of HIV/AIDS. Married participants and participants who had 7 years or less in service were more stigmatising in “attitudes of imposed measures” towards people living with HIV (p=0.006). Conclusion: Family medicine trainees exhibited stigmatisation and discrimination towards HIV patients despite having good HIV knowledge. Hence, appropriate and concerted health education should be given to all family medicine trainees to eliminate stigmatisation and discrimination. Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia 2022-07-20 Article PeerReviewed Chan, Hiang Ngee and Mohamad, Anuar and Abdul Rashid, Aneesa and Ho, Bee Kiau and Abdul Aziz Cooper, Alia and Mukhtar Aajamer, Haslina and Noor Emjah, Ermi and Krishnan, Jashithra Syamala and Hwee, Gloria Neo Lih (2022) Assessing knowledge, acts of discrimination, stigmatizing attitudes and its associated factors towards people living with HIV (PLHIV) among family medicine trainees in Malaysia. Malaysian Family Physician, 17 (3). 33 - 42. ISSN 1985-207X; ESSN: 1985-2274 https://e-mfp.org/article/assessing-knowledge-acts-of-discrimination-stigmatizing-attitudes-and-its-associated-factors-towards-people-living-with-hiv-plhiv-among-family-medicine-trainees-in-malaysia/ 10.51866/oa1298 |
| spellingShingle | Chan, Hiang Ngee Mohamad, Anuar Abdul Rashid, Aneesa Ho, Bee Kiau Abdul Aziz Cooper, Alia Mukhtar Aajamer, Haslina Noor Emjah, Ermi Krishnan, Jashithra Syamala Hwee, Gloria Neo Lih Assessing knowledge, acts of discrimination, stigmatizing attitudes and its associated factors towards people living with HIV (PLHIV) among family medicine trainees in Malaysia |
| title | Assessing knowledge, acts of discrimination, stigmatizing attitudes and its associated factors towards people living with HIV (PLHIV) among family medicine trainees in Malaysia |
| title_full | Assessing knowledge, acts of discrimination, stigmatizing attitudes and its associated factors towards people living with HIV (PLHIV) among family medicine trainees in Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Assessing knowledge, acts of discrimination, stigmatizing attitudes and its associated factors towards people living with HIV (PLHIV) among family medicine trainees in Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing knowledge, acts of discrimination, stigmatizing attitudes and its associated factors towards people living with HIV (PLHIV) among family medicine trainees in Malaysia |
| title_short | Assessing knowledge, acts of discrimination, stigmatizing attitudes and its associated factors towards people living with HIV (PLHIV) among family medicine trainees in Malaysia |
| title_sort | assessing knowledge, acts of discrimination, stigmatizing attitudes and its associated factors towards people living with hiv (plhiv) among family medicine trainees in malaysia |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100396/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100396/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/100396/ |