Background: HIV-related discrimination in health care settings is associated with negative health outcomes among persons with HIV (PWH). This article describes and compares differences in the prevalence of self-reported experiences with discrimination in health care settings by sociodemographic and clinical care factors among persons with diagnosed HIV in the United States.
Methods: We analyzed interview and medical record data collected during June 2018-May 2019 from 3850 PWH who had received HIV care in the past 12 months. We calculated weighted percentages and associated 95% confidence intervals and assessed the association between any experience of discrimination and selected sociodemographic and clinical characteristics using prevalence ratios with predicted marginal means.
Results: Approximately 25% of PWH who had an HIV care visit in the past 12 months reported experiencing any discrimination. Experiences with discrimination were significantly more prevalent among persons aged 18-29 years (34%); transgender persons (41%); persons of gay (25%), bisexual (31%), or other (40%) sexual orientations; and persons who did not have a regular provider (39%), lived at/below poverty level (28%), were homeless (39%) or incarcerated (37%) in the past 12 months. PWH who experienced discrimination were more likely to have missed at least one HIV care visit, not be taking antiretroviral therapy, and have missed antiretroviral therapy doses. Recent and sustained viral suppression were not significantly associated with experiencing any discrimination.
Conclusions: Interventions that address the sociocultural and structural factors associated with discrimination in all health care settings are needed to improve health outcomes among PWH and end the HIV epidemic in the United States.
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