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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC 4.0HIV Medicine

HIV‐related knowledge and stigma among healthcare workers in Greece: A secondary analysis of a European survey

  • Charalampos D. Moschopoulos1
  • Nikos Pantazis2
  • Konstantinos Protopapas1
  • Dimitra Kavatha1
  • Giota Touloumi2
  • Charalampos Gogos3,4
  • Marios Lazanas5,6
  • Antonios Papadopoulos1
6 affiliations
  1. 1Fourth Department of Internal Medicine Attikon University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Athens Greece
  2. 2Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Athens Greece
  3. 3Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases Metropolitan General Clinic Athens Greece
  4. 4Chair, Hellenic Society for the Study and Control of AIDS (EEMAA) Athens Greece
  5. 5Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases IASO General Clinic Athens Greece
  6. 6Past Chair, Hellenic Society for the Study and Control of AIDS (EEMAA) Athens Greece
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Abstract

Background: HIV‐related stigma in healthcare settings remains a barrier to equitable care for people living with HIV. Data on HIV‐related knowledge and stigmatizing attitudes among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Greece are limited. This study aimed to describe HIV‐related knowledge, stigmatizing attitudes and discriminatory practices among HCWs in Greece and to identify factors associated with higher knowledge and stigma.

Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of the Greek subset of the 2023 ECDC/EACS survey on HIV‐related knowledge and stigma among HCWs. HIV knowledge was assessed using three items on undetectable equals untransmittable (‘U=U’), post‐exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), combined into a four‐level ordinal variable. Stigmatizing attitudes were assessed using an eight‐item mean score. Associations with knowledge were examined using proportional‐odds ordinal logistic regression, and associations with stigma were assessed using a multivariable linear model.

Results: Among 826 respondents, correct knowledge was reported by 57.9% for ‘U=U’, 59.4% for PEP and 39.0% for PrEP. Nearly half answered no more than one item correctly. Higher knowledge was independently associated with younger age, male gender, doctor role, hospital‐based practice and greater occupational contact with people living with HIV. The mean stigma score was 2.1 on a 1–5 scale. Higher stigma scores were independently associated with older age, lower HIV knowledge and absence of prior HIV stigma/discrimination training. Doctors had lower adjusted stigma scores than nurses in pairwise comparisons.

Conclusions: Important gaps in HIV prevention knowledge and persistent stigmatizing attitudes were observed among HCWs in Greece. Findings support structured, decentralized educational and stigma‐reduction interventions across healthcare settings.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{moschopoulos2026hivrelated,
  title = {{HIV‐related knowledge and stigma among healthcare workers in Greece: A secondary analysis of a European survey}},
  author = {Charalampos D. Moschopoulos and Nikos Pantazis and Konstantinos Protopapas and Dimitra Kavatha and Giota Touloumi and Charalampos Gogos and Marios Lazanas and Antonios Papadopoulos},
  journal = {HIV Medicine},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1111/hiv.70306},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/hiv.70306},
  note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - HIV‐related knowledge and stigma among healthcare workers in Greece: A secondary analysis of a European survey
AU  - Charalampos D. Moschopoulos
AU  - Nikos Pantazis
AU  - Konstantinos Protopapas
AU  - Dimitra Kavatha
AU  - Giota Touloumi
AU  - Charalampos Gogos
AU  - Marios Lazanas
AU  - Antonios Papadopoulos
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/07
JO  - HIV Medicine
DO  - 10.1111/hiv.70306
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1111/hiv.70306
AB  - Background: HIV‐related stigma in healthcare settings remains a barrier to equitable care for people living with HIV. Data on HIV‐related knowledge and stigmatizing attitudes among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Greece are limited. This study aimed to describe HIV‐related knowledge, stigmatizing attitudes and discriminatory practices among HCWs in Greece and to identify factors associated with higher knowledge and stigma.  Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of the Greek subset of the 2023 ECDC/EACS survey on HIV‐related knowledge and stigma among HCWs. HIV knowledge was assessed using three items on undetectable equals untransmittable (‘U=U’), post‐exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), combined into a four‐level ordinal variable. Stigmatizing attitudes were assessed using an eight‐item mean score. Associations with knowledge were examined using proportional‐odds ordinal logistic regression, and associations with stigma were assessed using a multivariable linear model.  Results: Among 826 respondents, correct knowledge was reported by 57.9% for ‘U=U’, 59.4% for PEP and 39.0% for PrEP. Nearly half answered no more than one item correctly. Higher knowledge was independently associated with younger age, male gender, doctor role, hospital‐based practice and greater occupational contact with people living with HIV. The mean stigma score was 2.1 on a 1–5 scale. Higher stigma scores were independently associated with older age, lower HIV knowledge and absence of prior HIV stigma/discrimination training. Doctors had lower adjusted stigma scores than nurses in pairwise comparisons.  Conclusions: Important gaps in HIV prevention knowledge and persistent stigmatizing attitudes were observed among HCWs in Greece. Findings support structured, decentralized educational and stigma‐reduction interventions across healthcare settings.
SN  - 1464-2662
SN  - 1468-1293
ER  -