BACKGROUND: HIV-related stigmatizing attitudes are persistent concerns in developing countries and have been shown to fuel the spread of the epidemics. The purpose of this study is to provide a comparative analysis between Haiti and the Dominican Republic in regards to the population’s attitude towards People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). METHODS: Cross-sectional data from the Demographic Health Surveys involving 15,715 Haitians and 55,170 Dominicans from 2005 to 2007 were used. A score of attitudes was established from six items such as the willingness to care for infected relatives, the willingness to buy vegetables from an HIV infected vendor, the perception that HIV patients should be ashamed of themselves, the agreement to blame and force them to keep their serostatus secret and finally the agreement to allow infected teachers to continue their jobs. Descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate analyses of selected socio-demographic variables were obtained by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). RESULTS: Logistic regression models showed that female Dominicans and male Haitians, respondents of higher socio-economic status and with more accurate HIV-related beliefs were significantly more tolerant towards PLWHA (p<.001). Furthermore, the Dominican Republic’s data analysis suggested that those aged between 30 and 44 years old, living in urban areas and married expressed more tolerance for the HIV- infected individuals. Overall, the attitudes and beliefs of the Haitians adjusted for socio-demographic variables did not differ markedly from the Dominicans. CONCLUSION: The attitudes towards PLWHA seem to be associated with the nature of the HIV-related beliefs in some vulnerable groups. The findings of this study should guide the design of appropriate programs aimed at the education of targeted populations.

This study examines how suicide attempt survivors (SASs) decide whether or not to disclose their suicide attempt to close others. The investigation is framed using the revelation risk model (RRM) of disclosure (Afifi & Steuber, 2009) with particular focus on the risk assessment and willingness to disclose components of the model. Additionally, the investigation considers the concept of stigma in an effort to expand how stigma is relevant within the decision to disclose about prior suicide attempts. The sample includes 10 participants recruited from the Live Through This project, a project dedicated to collecting and sharing stories online from suicide attempt survivors. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Data analysis showed that suicide attempt survivor disclosure generally follows the framework of the RRM. Notably, stigma was shown to be a major factor in the secret valence and risk assessment stages of the model. Additionally, the disclosure decision-making process was found to change over time.