HIV-AIDS Stigma in the Workplace: A Qualitative Study in Türkiye

Abstract

HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of the most important global health problems in history. Stigmatizing attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in the workplace lead to the loss of jobs or not being preferred for new recruitment. This study aims to shed light on the situations related to stigma and stigma fears that they have experienced in their work life. A phenomenological research design was used in the research, while volunteer sampling and snowball sampling were used as sampling methods. The study was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 10 male participants living in Türkiye, who were infected with HIV, between March 10, 2022, and March 17, 2022. Open coding was used in the first stage of the research, and axial and selective coding was achieved after the selection of the core category. While homosexual individuals stated that they had learned about their first diagnosis during routine blood test controls, heterosexual individuals stated that they had learned about their first diagnosis incidentally. They stated that they had felt emotions such as denial, sadness, helplessness, and fear when they had learned it, however, their fears eased later on. While married individuals first shared their diagnoses with their spouses, single individuals shared their diagnoses with partners or close friends. Most participants hide their HIV infection from their colleagues or managers. All participants stated that being an HIV/AIDS patient would have a negative impact on recruitment and promotion. They stated that if they lost their jobs, they sought their rights through legal means. They also stated that the first emotion they would feel when they lost a job would be anger, sadness, disappointment, and anxiety. They stated that in order not to be stigmatized, society should be educated and social media should be used for creating awareness. It has been found that stigma in the workplace is still important in Türkiye (formerly known as Turkey) and has a negative impact on PLWHA. It was emphasized that it is important to inform society in order to eliminate the stigma.