HIV/AIDS Related Stigma in Iran: A Qualitative Study

HIV/AIDS is considered by many one as the most dangerous disease emerged in the human history. Unlike many diseases, this one is not just a medical situation; but a social problem. Its ways of transmission, generally related to risky behaviors and sexual activities, have pulled the attention of different sectors of society to this disease. It seems that a stigma is formed around HIV/AIDS and people who live with this disease are stigmatized. In this study, by using a qualitative approach, it has attempted that the primary causes of the stigma be discovered. A secondary data analysis was conducted to provide the necessary data for grounded theory. This method provided a theoretical model, in which, the causes, the context, confounders and mediators, consequences and strategies of action and interaction about the phenomenon of HIV/AIDS related stigma are discovered and shown.