African Film Against Stigma

posted: 11/05/2011

No Blame, No Shame is an epic new HIV health promotion film from the African Health Policy Network (AHPN). The film tackles the taboos and stigma surrounding HIV infection in UK’s African community. No Blame, No Shame features top comedian Gina Yashere, alongside HIV positive UK Africans, in a film made by Angus Malcolm.
 

No Stigma in living with HIV

No Blame, No Shame is an online video that is also available as a DVD, promoting the African Health Policy Network’s Public Faces  campaign, that there is no stigma in living with HIV and that stigmatising attitudes only help spread HIV.
 

Watch No Blame, No Shame here
 

Eunice Sinyemu, Head of Policy and Deputy Chief Executive at AHPN says “We have to challenge the stigma around HIV in the UK's African communities. It stops individuals from getting tested, which means they don’t get the treatment they need, and are more likely to infect others. With Gina’s help, we are confident we can get this message across in a colourful, punchy and accessible way.”
“Gina is much-loved in the African community, and having a big name on board is really going to help us reach our audience.”

Wide distribution

AHPN is promoting the film to reach as many people in the African community as possible, including viral marketing and distribution on DVD, use in training for a wide range of specialists and professionals, faith leaders and communities, local and national policy makers, workers in the health and social care sectors, local and national media.

Read about the comedian Gina Yashere

The film was made by Angus Malcolm, writer and producer. With a background in healthcare, including several years in the AIDS Unit at the Department of Health, Angus specialises in producing low-cost media for the statutory and not-for-profit sectors, especially education and healthcare.

No Blame, No Shame
 

HIV Stigma Blamed for Clinic Drop Out

posted: 13/08/2009

People who feel stigmatised because they have HIV don’t go to their clinic as often as they should, American researchers have found. This reinforces George House Trust's own findings on the hundreds of people in NW England who have stopped using HIV clinics, or who have never used any clinic in the NW since diagnosis. 

The next issue of Insight  has a detailed investigation into what is going on and what needs to be done. It will be published on Thursday 20 August.

3 out of 4 have poor clinic attendance, and 2 out of 5 don't take treatment properly

The USA study showed that 77% of people had poor access to healthcare and 43% didn’t take their HIV treatment properly. People who reported feeling stigmatised were much less likely to visit their HIV clinic regularly than people who did not report feelings of stigma. The research also showed that poor mental health was associated with not taking HIV treatment properly.
 

Internalised stigma leads to fall in clinic use

“Our study provides important information about the association between internalized stigma and self-reported access to medical care”, comment the investigators.

There have been dramatic improvements in HIV treatment, and now the life outlook for many people living with HIV is considered almost normal. Nevertheless, HIV remains a stigmatised illness and this threatens the emotional, mental and physical health of all people living with HIV.

Stigma is a complex idea, but it is basically the shaming and blaming that is heaped on anyone who is thought to have broken the values and social norms of their community or wider society. Becoming HIV positive is socially disapproved of - like getting other sexually transmitted infections is disapproved of, but far worse.

Internalising the shame and blame

Most behaviour that society disapproves of leads to people absorbing and adopting some of the stigma - we come to believe some, or all of it, is true about us. We are surrounded by HIV stigma and it is hard to resist and feel good about yourself. This is internalised stigma and it is damaging to mental and physical health. Internalised HIV stigma is a bit like how some people who are gay (or female, or of an ethnic minority background, or with a disability etc.) come to self-hate themselves and believe the negative attitudes about gay (female, ethnic minority, disabled, etc) people that surround them. 

What they studied and found

Investigators from Los Angeles (LA) thought that internalised HIV stigma would be associated with three key aspects of HIV care:

• using HIV clinics 
• regularly going to clinics for HIV care
• taking HIV treatment properly - adherence.

202 people were surveyed from LA HIV clinics and support services. The research was undertaken in 2007.

Most (56%) were women and an equal proportion African American. The mean age was 43 years and 31% were gay men.

Measuring internalised HIV stigma - 1 in 3 endure significant stigma

Internalised stigma was assessed using a questionnaire which scored people’s responses on a scale of 0 to 100. The overall score was 41, suggesting that well over a third of participants had significant internalised HIV-associated stigma.

Overall, 77% of individuals reported having poor access to healthcare, 11% having no regular source of HIV care, and 43% poor adherence to their HIV treatment.

The investigators’ first set of statistical analyses showed that individuals reporting a high level of internalised stigma were much more likely to report poor access to HIV care, to lack a regular source of HIV care, and to have low levels of adherence to their HIV medication (the detailed statistics are in the journal article).

Internalised HIV stigma - four times more people drop out of HIV care

However, when the investigators allowed for other possible explanations, they found that internalised stigma was only really linked with poor access to HIV care. They also found that poor mental health, rather than internalised stigma itself, explained people not taking their HIV drugs properly.

1 in 3 report high levels of stigma

“Approximately one-third of participants reported experiencing high levels of internalized HIV stigma”, comment the investigators, adding “we found that respondents experiencing high levels of stigma had over four times the odds of reporting poor access to care.”

They note that their study was limited by its design and that more studies are needed to better understand what the relationship is between stigma and using HIV clinics.

“Such studies could enable us to examine changes in stigma and its contribution to health care and health outcomes throughout the disease trajectory”, conclude the researchers.

Stigma and mental health booklets

NAM produces two useful booklets on HIV & Stigma, and HIV & Mental Health. They are available free to people with HIV in the UK , as well as on their website, at George House Trust, and through HIV clinics.

Reference - full article is available free, either as a pdf file, or on a web page.

Sayles JN et al. The association of stigma with self-reported access to medical care and antiretroviral therapy adherence in persons living with HIV/AIDS (pdf). J Gen Intern Med (webpage online edition), 2009.

Source

Hollyoaks and HIV Hate

posted: 17/02/2009

Hollyoaks, the Channel 4 soap opera, is famous for tackling real-life issues, and the teen soap is set to explore prejudice towards people living with HIV next week.

Viewers were appalled a few months ago when Malachy Fisher was diagnosed with HIV but continued to have unprotected sex with then girlfriend Mercedes McQueen, without telling her.

After a turbulent few months the couple reunited and married shortly afterwards. However, the subject of Malachy's condition will come up once again when it emerges that Myra McQueen is scared she could catch the virus by simply touching her new son-in-law.

Glen Wallace, who plays Malachy on the Cheshire-set soap, feels the storyline has been a long time coming.

He said: "Hollyoaks has a track record of tackling big issues, be it Nico's [Newt's] mental illness or the bulimia storyline we had quite recently. The HIV storyline is relevant to today's youth culture, and as they're the ones watching the show we can tackle the issues in a sensitive way."

source

Holyoaks and Malachy

Newly Diagnosed Shame Kills Nurse

posted: 19/09/2008

A Blackpool nurse kills himself after becoming diagnosed


A NURSE whose death sparked a murder probe killed himself, after he discovered he had HIV, an inquest heard.

Police at first thought they were confronted with a crime scene when they broke into the Blackpool home of the nurse, Sebastian Musiiwa Masawi, and found him bleeding on the floor.
But an inquest heard the 28-year-old Zimbawean had been ill for several weeks with severe abdominal pains and a cough, which turned out to be tuberculosis. Police were called to the home he shared with his girlfriend at 10.10am on April 8 after a 999 call in which a person was heard struggling to breathe.

The officers forced their way in and found him lying in the living room, bleeding profusely from wounds in his abdomen and neck. They also spotted a pool of blood in the kitchen, along with a kitchen knife - with a six or seven inch blade.

PC David Little said: "Next to the male was a phone off the hook and bloodstained. His eyes were open and he was still breathing. He tried to speak, but could not form words." Paramedics battled to try to save the nurse's life, but he died in the back of the ambulance just outside the house.

Police immediately sealed off the scene because they suspected a third party could have been involved. But a Home Office pathologist, who carried out a post-mortem, concluded his injuries were "self-inflicted." He concluded the Blackpool Victoria Hospital theatre nurse had bled to death from a cut throat and a wound in his abdomen, which had also pierced his heart.
The inquest heard Mr Masawi had been ill since March this year. He had been taken into hospital after suffering severe stomach pains and a bad cough.

His girlfriend said he had blood taken and they discussed HIV testing, but he told her he was worried about it because if he was diagnosed with the disease, he would have "ruined her life." He spent the next month off work, often in bed and she had to help look after him, which she felt was "getting him down." On the day Mr Masawi died, his girlfriend - who described him as "a kind, wonderful person with a huge heart" - said he told her as she left for work: "Remember I love you, you're my angel."
The police told her later that day what had happened and was left "shocked and devastated".

Coroner Christopher Beverley said he had no choice but to record a verdict that Mr Masawi took his own life, given the severity of his injuries. He said it could only be surmised why and no one could know if he was in so much discomfort that he could no longer stand it, or because he felt he could not carry on after being diagnosed with HIV.

The Coroner said: "It's extremely tragic he felt there was no alternative. There have been medical advances which mean there are now many treatments available."

George House Trust comment:
Many people have very strong feelings and reactions to becoming diagnosed with HIV. Feelings of shame and guilt are very common but usually soon go away, with better information and support. We always advise people to look for support rather than hiding away and attempting to cope alone. George House Trust provides a wide range of support services for people who have recently become diagnosed, including a course for newly diagnosed gay men - the next starts early in November. We have regular services for Africans as well as gay men and others, and our African service includes a group of African men who meet to discuss what matters. Meeting and talking with others in a similar situation helps us all put things in a better perspective and helps us all see that there is "still life with HIV". The coroner is right - most people diagnosed in their 30s can expect to live into their 70s with the range of treatments now available. Many people continue working and living normal and contented lives after diagnosis with HIV, including nurses.

original press report