Assessment of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and knowledge gaps among healthcare providers in Egypt.

Background

Stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV (PLHIV) in healthcare settings are significant barriers to achieving Egypt's 95-95-95 targets and ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Misconceptions among healthcare professionals (HCPs) can negatively affect testing, treatment, and care outcomes. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of HCPs toward PLHIV at Cairo University Hospitals.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted between March and June 2021 (n = 344 HCPs, mean age = 31.1 years, female = 52%), including physicians, nurses, and house officers, using an online, self-administered questionnaire adapted from the UNAIDS standardised tool for measuring HIV-related stigma and discrimination. The survey covered five domains: sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, practices, and institutional policies.

Results

Only 30.3% of participants (n = 104) had received HIV/AIDS training in the past year. The training received had a median training duration of 12 hours (IQR: 7-21). While 86.6% (n = 298) correctly identified that a healthy-looking person can have HIV, misinformation was prevalent in other areas. Furthermore, 77.3% were unaware of the "undetectable = untransmittable" ("U=U") concept. Discriminatory attitudes and stigmatising behaviour driven by illiteracy of HIV/AIDS issues were evident. More than half of the participants strongly agreed that their facility had adequate supplies and standardised procedures to reduce HIV transmission risk, and 31.4% stated that their facility lacked written guidelines to protect patients with HIV from discrimination.

Conclusion

Persistent knowledge gaps, fear of occupational exposure, and moral judgments toward PLHIV were evident among HCP. Targeted stigma-reduction interventions through continuous professional education, enforcement of institutional anti-discrimination policies, and incorporation of HIV prevention principles into healthcare curricula are urgently needed.