SDCA Journal of Medical Technology

Abstract

Assessment of HIV/AIDS patients' perceptions and expectations of the disease, therapy, and care delivered can assist in the identification of concerns that can then be incorporated into patient care (Mantzorou & Mantrogiannis, 2011). This study aims to determine Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Stigma among Medical Laboratory Science students at St. Dominic College of Asia in Bacoor City, Cavite. Seventy (70) students took part in the study. A five-point Likert scale was used in this research. Structured questionnaires were adapted from National Epidemiology Center (2014) and Stringer et al. (2012)’s study of attitudes towards people living with HIV and people who inject drugs. This research shows that there is no significant difference relative to age and gender. It means that there is no evidence of stigmatization among the Medical Laboratory Science students of this institution. Furthermore, respondents believe an utmost respect should be given to both the HIV infected patient and the workers of the health facility through standardized procedures in the reduction of the infection. The researchers suggest for the future researchers to continue with the study looking into considerations on those areas that are not covered by this. Furthermore, a similar study conducted on different settings such as the health facilities or institutions handling HIV patients and on various respondents is also encouraged.

Keywords: Human immunodeficiency virus, stigma, medical laboratory science students, St. Dominic College of Asia.