“It’s all about asking from those who have walked the path”: Patient and stakeholder perspectives on how peers may shift substance use stigma in HIV care in South Africa

Table 3 Patient social distance scale (SDS) results

	Definitely not	Unlikely		Likely		Definitely
Would you feel comfortable talking with Andile about your own alcohol or other drug use?	0	0		3 (20%)		12 (80%)
Would you feel comfortable talking with Andile about any challenges with your HIV treatment?	0	0		1 (7%)		14 (93%)
	Less interested	More interested		Unsure		Does not affect
Does Andile’s history of drug use and recovery affect whether you want him as part of your HIV care team?	0	14 (93%)		0		1 (7%)
Does Andile’s HIV status affect whether you want him as part of your HIV care team?	0	14 (93%)		0		1 (7%)
			M (SD) or n (%)		Range
Interested in speaking to someone like Andile about alcohol or other drug problems (1 not at all interested to 10 very interested)			9.53 (1.36)		5–10
Someone in their family like Andile			3 (20%)		–
Someone among their friends like Andile			5 (33%)		–
Number of years would want Andile to be in recovery before joining HIV care team			2.14 (1.45)		6mo–7 years
Ever spoken to a peer, or someone like Andile, as part of HIV care?¹			5 (33%)		–
Ever spoken to a peer, or someone like Andile, as part of substance use treatment?²			4 (27%)		–

¹Counsellor at the clinic in risk of treatment failure group (n = 2); Cannot remember (n = 1); Peers and therapists at SU treatment (n = 1); Treatment adherence counsellors (n = 1)
²Counsellor at the clinic about risk of treatment failure (n = 1); Friend/peer/neighbor (n = 1); Peers and therapists at SU treatment (n = 1); Counsellor at the clinic in risk of treatment failure group (n = 1)

ISSN: 1940-0640