STEREOTYPE AND HEALTH CARE
As several pieces of research continue to demonstrate stereotypes for people living with HIV, it leads to a decrease in the number of people going for HIV testing and other healthcare-related services. It is due to the stigmatization or discrimination they experience from other people, including health care practitioners in the northeastern U.S. negative attitude toward people living with HIV. Even by health care practitioners, it has been increasing, leading to several negative impacts on individuals living with HIV. This kind of stigmatization tends to discourage individuals from accessing both public, and public health services, as well as prevention methods, seeking advice about HIV, enrolling in health care, including adherence to the treatment. (Thesis) this paper aims to describe a scenario of stereotypes about individuals with HIV/AIDS in the northeastern U.S.
Many studies on discrimination, stigma, and health care seeking behaviors, shows individuals with HIV, perceiving HIV related stigmatization, and discrimination are more likely to take time before seeking medical attention until they become seriously sick. Many studies have realized that individuals living with the virus avoided going to find medical care services as they feared being discriminated against and stigmatized by the health care practitioners because of their status. Health practitioners have been reported of stigmatizing patients living with HIV/AIDs. Some are very rude to them, claiming that their condition is due to the sinful act. The general perception of people to others living with HIV will make the medical practitioners develop a negative attitude towards HIV patients also. With this kind of fear, people are discouraged from prevention uptake, including seeking testing services.
HIV based stereotype is belied to create many barriers across HIV, testing, prevention, including treatment cascades. HIV related stereotypes, among other forms of discrimination against individuals HIV patients, included unwillingness to take care of HIV patients admitted or attending health care centers. HIV patients being provided with poor care by medical practitioners compared with the other patients. Due to people’s perception that HIV is due to carelessness and indiscipline, other people, including medical practitioners, tend to ignore patience requiring services at the expense of other patients. Medical practitioners carry a negative attitude towards people living with HIV to their workplace (health facilities).
Due to discrimination and stigmatization of individuals living with HIV, medical practitioners are tempted to disclose their status to others in society, for feeling that these people are guilty. Nothing about them should be secret; others should be aware of being more cautious, hence end up disclosing that secret about an HIV patient, which needs to be confidential. With stereotypes, medical practitioners tend to refer patients to other health centers, mainly private clinics, in the name of inadequate drugs and other services.
The negative attitudes or beliefs towards individuals with HIV label people as part of a particular group believed as socially unaccepted. People living with HIV are treated differently from others, especially in health care by medical practitioners. Health care professionals have been refusing to provide services and care to individuals living with HIV. Some claim that HIV is a punishment for a misdeed; hence they should punish them too. More so, some refusing unpremeditated contact with HIV patients, which makes them develop low self-esteem.
People with HIV are social isolation by other members of society. In the community, people tend to separate people living with HIV; for instance, they are not allowed to participate in the community’s important events. They are also denied many opportunities like leadership, as well as job opportunities. In society, this group of individuals is referred to as “positive” or “HIVers,” making them develop low self-esteem. HIV discrimination and stigma usually affect people’s emotional well-being and mental health in individuals with HIV. These people typically internalize stereotypes that have the experience, and they later develop the so-called self-image. These people fear being discriminated against judged or discriminated in case their HIV status gets revealed by either a medical practitioner of people, for instance, close friends.
Social identity theory applies to this kind of event. In this case, all the people with HIV have been branded in a particular group. They have also been named based on group membership. HIV patient is usually identified with their group, for instance. According to Turner (1979), three mental processes are applied when evaluating others, including social categorization, identification, and comparison. For this scenario, people with HIV have been grouped as “positives” or “HIVers” by others.
When people or groups are discriminated against or stigmatized, they usually develop low self-esteem. They also feel that they are socially unaccepted. People living with HIV should not be stigmatized nor discriminated in one way or the other. For instance, medical practitioners are there to offer health care services to them as guidance and counseling and not disclosing their status to the public, or ignoring them in a case when they seek medical assistance. On the other hand, the general public should set an example by treating people living with HIV fair and loving so that they can feel accepted.
References
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