Up until now, many articles have been written to portray stigma and discrimination which occur with people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in many parts of the world. But this is the first book which attempts to put together results from empirical research relating to stigma, discrimination and living with HIV/AIDS. The focus of this book is on issues relevant to stigma and discrimination which have occurred to individuals and groups in different parts of the globe, as well as how these individuals and groups attempt to deal with HIV/AIDS. The book comprises chapters written by researchers who carry out their projects in different parts of the world and each chapter contains empirical information based on real life situations. This can be used as an evidence for health care providers to implement socially and culturally appropriate services to assist individuals and groups who are living with HIV/AIDS in many societies. The book is of interest to health care providers who have their interests in working with individuals and groups who are living with HIV/AIDS from a cross-cultural perspective. It will be useful for students and lecturers in courses such as anthropology, sociology, social work, nursing, public health and medicine. In particular, it will assist health workers in community health centres and hospitals in understanding issues related to HIV/AIDS and hence provide culturally sensitive health care to people living with HIV/AIDS from different social and cultural backgrounds. The book is useful for anyone who is interested in HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in diverse social and cultural settings.

Preface.- Chapter 1: Stigma, Discrimination and HIV/AIDS across Cultures: An Introduction; Pranee Liamputtong.- PART I. STIGMA, DISCRIMINATION, HIV/ AIDS - THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING.- Chapter 2: Stigma Experienced by People Living with HIV/AIDS; Valerie A. Earnshaw and Seth C. Kalichman.- Chapter 3: Gender and AIDS Stigma; Robert Wyrod.- Chapter 4. HIV-related Stigma across Cultures: Adding Family into the Equation; Connie Y.Y. Ho and Winnie W.S. Mak.- Chapter 5. Disclosure and Stigma: A Cultural Perspective; Minrie Greeff.- Chapter 6. HIV Stigmatization among Healthcare Providers: Review of the Evidence and Implications for HIV Care; Jessie Naughton and Peter A. Vanable.- PART II. THE EXPERIENCES OF STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION ACROSS SOCIAL AND CULTURAL GROUPS.- Chapter 7. Morality, Discrimination, and Silence: Understanding HIV Stigma in the Socio-Cultural Context of China; Yanqiu Rachel Zhou.- Chapter 8: Stigma and Discrimination towards People Living with HIV: Socio-Cultural Aspects, Experiences, and Ethical and Legal Responses in Colombia; Chantal Aristizábal-Tobler.- Chapter 9: Internalized Stigma among African American Living with HIV: Preliminary scale Development based on Qualitative Data; Deepa Rao, Michele Andrasik, Xeno Acharya and Jane Simoni.- Chapter 10. HIV-related Stigma and Discrimination in Puerto Rico: The Role of Sympathy on Attitudes towards Persons Living with HIV/AIDS; Lisa R. Norman.- Chapter 11: HIV-Related Stigma and HIV Disclosure among Latinos on the U.S.-Mexico Border; John A. Sauceda, John S. Wiebe, Deepa Rao, Cynthia R. Pearson and Jane M. Simoni.- Chapter 12:  The Experience of HIV-Related Stigma in South Africa; Maretha Visser and Heather Sipsmau.- Chapter 13: Spaces of Disclosure and Discrimination: Case Studies from India; Ajay Bailey and Shrinivas Darak.- Chapter 14: Stigma, Modernization, Sex Behavior, and Infection Risk among Chinese Youth; Eli Lieber, Ioakim Boutakidis and Dorothy Chin.- Chapter 15. LayeredStigma andd HIV/AIDS: Experiences of Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) in South Africa; Allanise Cloete, Seth C. Kalichman and Leickness C. Simbayi.- Chapter 16. Emerging Gay Identities in China: The Prevalence and Predictors of Social Discrimination against Men who have Sex with Men; Jenny X. Liu and Kyung-Hee Choi.- Chapter 17. Strange Bedfellows: HIV-Related Stigma among Gay Men in Australia; John B.F. de Wit, Dean A. Murphy, Philippe C.G. Adam and Simone Donohoe.- Chapter 18: The Hierarchical Experience of Stigma in HIV/ Hepatitis C Co-Infected Gay Men; Gareth J. Owen.- PART III. DEALING WITH AND MANAGEMENT OF STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION.- Chapter 19. HIV/AIDS Related Stigma among African Americans in the southern United States; Pamela Payne Foster and Susan W. Gaskins.- Chapter 20. An Antitode to Stigma? The People Living with HIV Stigma Index in Malawi and the United Kingdom (UK); Lucy Stackpool-Moore, Maureen L. Chirwa, Sam de Croy, Alastair Hudson, David Kamkwamba, Ruth Kundecha, Pamela T. Mahaka, Sue Onyango and Eunice Sinyemu.- Chapter 21: Achieving Harmony: Moving from Experiencing Social Disgust to Living with Harmony in People with HIV/AIDS in the Thai Context - Quantar Balthip, Julie Boddy and Jirapa Siriwatanamethanon.- Chapter 22: AIDS Support Groups and Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Thailand - Pranee Liamputtong, Niphattra Haritavorn and Niyada Kiatying-Angsulee.- Chapter 23: Gender Differences in Stigma and Community Support among People Living with HIV/AIDS in Thailand - Fumihiko Yokota and Mark VanLandingham.