Health Literacy, Knowledge of HIV/AIDS, and Public Stigma Among General Citizens of Japan: An Online Cross-Sectional Survey

BackgroundThis study aimed to examine how health literacy, knowledge of HIV/AIDS, and public stigma are associated with social distance toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH), as a behavioral manifestation of stigma, among the general Japanese population.MethodsWe conducted an online cross-sectional survey targeting adults (age range: 20-60 s) from among the 2.2 million registrants in Rakuten Insight from September 20 to 25, 2019. Stratified randomized sampling was performed according to the region, sex, and age. The study participants were 2268 eligible for analysis (effective response rate: 90.7%).ResultsModels were examined using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that low-level knowledge of HIV/AIDS affected social distance to PLWH (B = 3.77, (95% CI, 1.30 to 6.24)). 'Access,' 'understand,' 'appraise' and 'use' of European health literacy survey questionnaire affected social distance to PLWH (B = .03, (-.07 to .13); - B = .15, (-.27 to -.04); B = .06, (-.04 to .17); B = -.07, (-.19 to .05)). Public stigma of HIV/AIDS affected social distance to PLWH (B = .97, (.92 to 1.01)).ConclusionsThese findings indicate that health literacy not only maintains and promotes individual health but also has the potential to reduce social distance toward PLWH.