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 30 August 2008 12:55 BST

HIV employees 'face discrimination'

Wednesday, 03 Oct 2007 08:24
Women and less educated people with HIV were more likely to face discrimination

Health In Focus 

Workers who have HIV are more likely to face discrimination in the workplace, a new study claims.

Those most vulnerable to the discrimination and unemployment were found to be women and people with HIV who are less well-educated.

Employment helps maintain living standards for people with long-term conditions and helps to protect their mental and physical health.

Researchers studied 478 HIV positive people in France, all of whom had been diagnosed while in employment.

They were asked about the progression of the disease and how they were treated in the workplace.

According to the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 20 said they had been discriminated against and about a third (149) lost their jobs while of working age.

Nearly one in three said their health had precipitated their job loss but one in five had been sacked and 12 per cent had not had their contract renewed.

Women with HIV or Aids were more than four times as likely to lose their job as those with less severe illness. The same was not found in the men studied.

And those who were less well-educated who had been discriminated against at work were more than five times as likely to be made unemployed.

"As HIV infection mostly affects adults of prime working age, among whom a substantial and increasing proportion belong to socially vulnerable populations, the impact of HIV disease on employment suggested by our data is likely to translate into a high socioeconomic burden in western countries," the researchers conclude.
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