Stigma, discrimination and HIV or AIDS: an empirical investigation of Asian immigrants and refugees in Canada
International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare
ISSN: 2056-4902
Article publication date: 10 October 2022
Abstract
Purpose
HIV or AIDS remains invisible and dismissed by most South Asians living in Canada as HIV or AIDS issues are perceived as an offshoot of Western lifestyle linked with drug use and promiscuity. This paper aims to look into how people living with HIV or AIDS (PLWHA) cope with prejudice and stigma.
Design/methodology/approach
To guide this research, a constructivist grounded theory approach was adopted as the theoretical and methodological framework. The authors reached the participants through a Toronto-based group that works with PLWHA. The authors chose their respondents in a snowball method and interviewed them both in person and online.
Findings
This paper identifies how South Asian immigrants and refugees/refugees with HIV or AIDS claimants are vulnerable to discrimination in Canada due to the following factors, which include but are not limited to: a lack of information about HIV and AIDS incidence in the community; and the Canadian health system's inability to respond appropriately to the lack of information.
Practical implications
HIV service engagements should take place within the context of a constellation of local traditions, or standardized expectations of patient engagement with HIV services can be counterproductive.
Originality/value
It is critical that governmental action prioritizes increasing public understanding of stigma. To minimize the consequences of HIV-related discrimination and stigma, misconceptions about HIV transmission must be debunked.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the grant fund provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Ottawa, Canada, for conducting this research.
Competing Interests: We declare that the manuscript is an original work and has not been published, nor is it under consideration elsewhere. We declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Authors’ contribution: The first author was responsible for conceptualization; data curation, formal analysis, Funding acquisition, investigation, writing up and project administration. The second author was responsible for conceptualization, formal analysis, polishing the write-up, project administration, etc.
Citation
Ullah, A.A. and Huque, A.S. (2022), "Stigma, discrimination and HIV or AIDS: an empirical investigation of Asian immigrants and refugees in Canada", International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHRH-08-2022-0091
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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