Page 86 - MJHP MALAYSIAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH PROMOTION Volume 2, 2020

MALAYSIAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH PROMOTION Volume 2, 2020

led to positive clinical outcomes and 95% adherence to ART is required to
produce result of HIV load suppression of <400 copies/mL in the majority of
individuals (Lugova et al., 2015).Pharmacists’ involvement in providing care

to HIV positive patients have been associated with better clinical outcomes
including enhanced medication adherence, greater increases in CD4 cell
counts, higher viral suppression, reduced pill and reduced medication errors
(Ministry of Health Malaysia and UNICEF, 2008; Monjok et al., 2009).
A number of studies done on stigma and discrimination were
discussed locally and neighbouring region, however there are limited study
on HIV-related stigma and discrimination among pharmacists working in
primary care to date. Research conducted in the early years of the epidemic
indicated that the majority of healthcare workers in the South-eastern United
States believed that they should have the right to refuse services to PLWH
and would be unwilling to perform lifesaving procedures to HIV-infected
patients (Currey et al., 1990). This study aimed to describe the HIV-related
stigma and discrimination among pharmacists working in primary facilities,
and its association with socio-demographic characteristics, health facility
environment, and health facility policies.

2. METHODOLOGY
A cross-sectional study with self-administered questionnaires is conducted
among pharmacists working in health clinics in JKWPKL&P. The questions
in the survey questionnaire are fully adapted from Nyblade et al. (2013).
Permission from the author is obtained through electronic communication.
The questionnaire measures four programmatically actionable drivers of
HIV stigma within health facilities, which are the infection concerns in their
own facility, the practices and experiences in providing care to PLHIV, the
institutional policy and work environment as well as the opinions related
to PLHIV. This questionnaire has been tested and validated across six
countries: China, Dominica, Egypt, Kenya, Puerto Rico, and St. Kitts and
Nevis (Nyblade et al., 2013).
Data is collected from 1st September to 31st October 2018. The
inclusion criteria of this study are all registered pharmacists working in
health clinics in JKWPKL&P during data collection period. This includes
provisionally registered pharmacists (PRP) and contract pharmacists
regardless of the duration of service. Meanwhile, the study excluded
pharmacists who are on long-term leave, which is defined as leave for

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