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\u201cOur findings reinforce that in settings where stigmatizing attitudes remain pervasive, stigma-coping interventions empowering affected people can attenuate stigma\u2019s impact on substance use and HIV care,\u201d explains corresponding author Karsten Lunze<\/a>, MD, MPH, DrPH, associate professor of medicine.<\/p>\nThe researchers engaged leading stigma intervention experts and community organizations in Russia and Ukraine and together developed anti-stigma group sessions. The group then recruited 100 participants with HIV and past-30-day injection drug use at community outreach buses run by a non-governmental harm reduction organization in St. Petersburg, Russia. The\u00a0 study participants were randomized to receive either usual services only or an additional intervention of three weekly two-hour group sessions.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that the intervention group participants had higher chances to start ART (20% vs 3% compared to the non-intervention) and engage with substance use treatment (23% compared to 7%).<\/p>\n
According to the researchers, the increase in engagement might be due to the acceptance-based nature of the intervention, i.e., the reduction in avoidance of health care settings. \u201cThe intervention was not intended to directly reduce shame and fears related to internalized societal stigma, but was rather focused on improving stigma coping and thereby increasing healthy behavior and care seeking,\u201d said lead author Jason Luoma, PhD, from the Portland Psychotherapy Clinic, Research, and Training Center.<\/p>\n