Open AccessTesting the efficacy of an HIV stigma reduction intervention with medical students in Puerto Rico: the SPACES project
Author(s) -
VarasDíaz Nelson,
Neilands Torsten B,
CintrónBou Francheska,
MarzánRodríguez Melissa,
SantosFigueroa Axel,
SantiagoNegrón Salvador,
Marques Domingo,
RodríguezMadera Sheilla
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of the international aids society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.724
H-Index - 62
ISSN - 1758-2652
DOI - 10.7448/ias.16.1.18973
Subject(s) - medicine , stigma (botany) , psychological intervention , intervention (counseling) , health care , population , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , family medicine , health professionals , social stigma , gerontology , nursing , psychiatry , environmental health , economics , economic growth
Stigma associated with HIV has been documented as a barrier for accessing quality health‐related services. When the stigma manifests in the healthcare setting, people living with HIV receive substandard services or even be denied care altogether. Although the consequences of HIV stigma have been documented extensively, efforts to reduce these negative attitudes have been scarce. Interventions to reduce HIV stigma should be implemented as part of the formal training of future healthcare professionals. The interventions that have been tested with healthcare professionals and published have several limitations that must be surpassed (i.e., lack of comparison groups in research designs and longitudinal follow‐up data). Furthermore, Latino healthcare professionals have been absent from these intervention efforts even though the epidemic has affected this population disproportionately. Methods In this article, we describe an intervention developed to reduce HIV stigma among medical students in Puerto Rico. A total of 507 medical students were randomly introduced into our intervention and control conditions. Results The results show statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups; intervention group participants had lower HIV stigma levels than control participants after the intervention. In addition, differences in HIV stigma levels between the groups were sustained for a 12‐month period. Conclusions The results of our study demonstrate the efficacy of the modes of intervention developed by us and serve as a new training tool for future healthcare professionals with regard to stigma reduction.