Abstract

Background: The World Health Organization-2015 guidelines described the need to address barriers, such as stigma and discrimination by health care providers, to accessing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment. In our study, we assessed HIV-related stigma among primary health care physicians in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 404 family physicians working in primary health care centers in Bahrain in 2017. A standardized, self-administered questionnaire approved by the United States Agency for International Development was used to collect data. Statistical analysis for descriptive variables was performed using SPSS 23.0.

Results: The response rate of primary health care physicians in this study was 80%. Although 63.9% of the physicians trusted their facilities and equipment for protecting people from HIV, majority of them had an evident stigma in dealing with HIV patients during highly invasive procedures. Moreover, 64.9% of them were hesitant to work with HIV co-workers. Interestingly, 56.5% of the primary health care physicians were unaware of the written HIV related-guidelines available at the Public Health Directorate.

Conclusion: Despite the low prevalence of HIV in the Kingdom of Bahrain, there is obvious stigma and discrimination among primary health care physicians against HIV patients. This may act as a barrier for the affected patients in accessing health care systems and getting appropriate care. The stigma associated with HIV could be due to the lack of training and knowledge about this disease, its transmission, and protection.

Keywords: HIV Infections; Social Stigma; Bahrain; Primary Health Care.