Perceived stigma of HIV patients receiving task-shifted primary care service and its relation to satisfaction with health service.

Introduction: HIV stigma is the remaining challenge to end the global epidemics of HIV. Whether stigma may form a barrier to the provision of ART within the community-based, primary care setting was not studied yet. Therefore, this study intended (1) to compare the levels of 'perceived stigma' in PLHIV attending district hospital and primary care units (PCUs), and (2) to measure the relation between HIV stigma and the satisfaction of patients with their health service.

Satisfaction of HIV patients with task-shifted primary care service versus routine hospital service in northern Thailand.

Introduction: Shifting the task of HIV care to primary care providers is an important strategy to sustain expanding access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in high HIV burden countries like Thailand. In a pilot project, the task of following up ART-receiving patients was shifted from a physician-led HIV clinic team based at district level community hospital, to a nurse-led primary healthcare team of seven primary care centers, based at sub-district level in a district of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. This study aimed to evaluate the task-shifted ART service in a patient-centered approach.