A new study published in AIDS Patient Care and STDs (and reported on by AIDSmap.com) claims some HIV-positive veterans say they have experienced discrimination by their doctors. The study, conducted by Lance S. Rintamaki, PhD, from the department of communication and health behavior at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and his colleagues, cites stigmatizing behaviors on the part of some health care providers when treating their HIV-positive patients.

Rintamaki’s team conducted focus groups, followed by one-on-one interviews, with 50 HIV-positive men who receive HIV care through Veterans’ Affairs (VA) health clinics. Fifty-two percent of the men were African American, 68 percent were heterosexual and 32 percent were gay or bisexual. The participants’ average length of time since their initial HIV diagnosis was six years, and fifty-six percent had an AIDS diagnosis.

Though some men reported fair treatment and excellent care from VA health clinic physicians, others stated they felt their health care providers stigmatized them because of their HIV status. Some HIV-positive men said their providers would not look them in the eye. There were also reports of providers donning what appeared to be overly cautious protective clothing and gear before conducting an examination. Other providers allegedly spoke with a terse tone of voice and/or expressed judgmental attitudes when dispensing medical advice to their positive patients.

Of those who reported having been the recipient of stigmatizing behavior, some said the behavior did not prevent them from receiving quality health care. More worrisome, however, were the men who reported that in addition to stigmatizing their patients, the providers gave them inferior care or refused to offer them some types of health care all together.

This is not the first study to reveal stigmatizing behavior by the health care community toward people living with HIV. In a similar study published in August of 2007, 25 percent of participating patients reported they believed their doctors had treated them poorly because of their HIV status.

Rintamaki’s team is encouraging health care providers to pay careful attention to avoid the kinds of behaviors study participants reported as stigmatizing.

For some advice on how to handle stigma at the doc, read POZ’s special report on the subject.