XIVV International AIDS Conference, Mexico City 3-8 August 2008 “ The way I see it”: How stigma and depression affect self-perceived body image among HIV-positive individuals on HAART AK Palmer 1, EK Brandson 1 , W. Zhang 1 , KC Duncan 1 , V Lima 1 , JS Montaner 1,2 , RS Hogg 1,3 1 The British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver BC, Canada 2 Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC, Canada 3 Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby BC, Canada

The estimated probability of experiencing positive body image for all four groups

What we have found : Food security, neighbourhood cohesion, a good standard of living in comparison to their neighbours, high scores on the quality of life scale, employment and smoking affected one’s self-perceived body image in a positive manner, but above all, stigma and depression are the deciding factors for positive body image. Where do we go from here ?: There is a demonstrated need for community-level interventions to inform the public about HIV/AIDS in order to reduce stigma towards those living with HIV/AIDS. Along with addressing clinical health status, physicians should regularly assess patients’ mental health needs and be positioned to refer patients to appropriate services. Conclusions