HIV Stigmatization Harms Individuals and Public Health

which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Editorial There have been many successful stories about HIV treatment and prevention during the past three decades of the AIDS epidemic. Among the successful stories, HIV chemo-therapy has been a major medical accomplishment in the past two decades and has dramatically reduced the morbidity and mortality of those with access to care [1]. Since a controlled trial demonstrated the efficacy and safety of combination an-tiretroviral therapy (cART) to treat HIV infection, virologic suppression, immune reconstitution, and long-term survival of HIV infected persons have been achievable goals. Even though HIV infection is currently a controllable disease for patients on successful cART, people living with HIV/ AIDS (PLWHA) are still suffering from social stigmatization in many countries, including South Korea [2-4]. Kittner et al. [3] reported 36.1% of German HIV subjects rated to feel guilty in relation to their infection, and they concluded HIV infected patients in Germany still suffer from an elevated level of anxiety and depression that was related with internal stigmatiza-tion. Stigma has been characterized as self, or internalized, stigma, which can limit self-efficacy and empowerment; perceived stigma, the sense of what others think or how they might treat persons thought or known to have HIV; and experienced stigma, the actual experience of discrimination, exclusion , or other social sanctions based on perceived HIV status. As Kittner et al. [3] pointed out, patients from the Asia-Pacific region including Korea tend to be more anxious to lose family and friends after disclosure than other regions [2]. One study assessed the prevalence of stigmatizing attitudes in Korean adolescents from 2006 to 2011 [4]. The responders discriminated significantly against those with HIV/AIDS, reporting attitudes such as being disgusted by PLWHA, contact avoidance of PLWHA, and blaming those with HIV for their infection. A global cross-sectional survey of perceived HIV-related stigma among 2,035 PLWHA from North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region including South Korea has been performed [5]. The survey showed 37% of re-sponders reported loneliness as a result of their HIV status. Depression was reported by 27%. While 96% reported disclosing their HIV status to at least one person, 17% of patients who reported being in long-term sexual relationships had not disclosed their status to their partner. The authors concluded that perceived HIV stigma, isolation, and discrimination were persistent even …