Austin Public Health and partners launch local People Living with HIV Stigma Index pilot

Austin Public Health and community partners outlined a peer‑led project to measure HIV‑related stigma and discrimination in the Austin Transitional Grant Area (TGA) during a Public Health Commission meeting.

The People Living with HIV (PLHIV) Stigma Index pilot will use in‑person, peer‑administered interviews to gather qualitative and quantitative evidence on how stigma affects testing, care and daily life. Michelle Osorio, public health program coordinator with Austin Public Health and the Fast Track Cities Initiative, told commissioners the project aims to produce actionable local data to guide outreach and services.

The commission heard that the pilot will interview about 102 people in the Austin TGA — defined for this project as Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties — with a longer-term goal of interviewing up to 320 people. Osorio said each interview will take about 60 to 90 minutes and that participants will receive a $100 stipend. She said interviewers must also be people living with HIV and will be paid for interviews.

"This assessment was created by people living with HIV for people living with HIV," Osorio said, adding the…