{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T18:04:53Z","timestamp":1783965893232,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783900800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosglobalpublichealth.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLOS Glob Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Perceived tuberculosis related stigma remains a critical structural barrier to timely healthcare-seeking and a major driver of the global tuberculosis burden. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of perceived stigma and identify its associated factors among hospitalized pulmonary tuberculosis inpatients in Hue Central Hospital - a national tertiary hospital in Vietnam - in 2024. A mixed-methods design was employed, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative components. The quantitative component utilized the validated Van Rie Tuberculosis Stigma Scale (VTSS) with 200 pulmonary tuberculosis inpatients from May to July 2024 to measure multiple dimensions of perceived stigma. Additionally, 13 in-depth interviews were conducted with inpatients and healthcare workers following the quantitative phase. Quantitative data were analyzed using multivariable regression while qualitative data were audio-recorded, transcribed, thematically coded, and used to enrich interpretation of quantitative findings. Overall, 43.5% of inpatients experienced perceived stigma, 90.5% intentionally kept physical distance from others, and 87.0% disclosed their disease status selectively to close family members. Perceived stigma was more prevalent among patients with higher socioeconomic status (aOR = 2.01; 95%CI: 1.01-3.99), and those who were unmarried or widowed (aOR = 2.93; 95%CI: 1.01-8.47). Qualitative results further highlighted how social isolation, fear of contagion, and persistent cultural misconceptions about tuberculosis - compounded by the visibility of a tertiary hospital - significantly shaped these perceived stigmatizing experiences. Perceived pulmonary tuberculosis related stigma among pulmonary tuberculosis inpatients remains high. These findings underscore the urgent need for integrating stigma-reduction strategies into routine tuberculosis programs, including community education, patient-centered counselling, and strengthened social support mechanisms to mitigate the psychological burden of the disease.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgph.0006752","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T17:22:41Z","timestamp":1783963361000},"page":"e0006752","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pgph.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Perceived stigma among hospitalized pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Hue Central Hospital: A 2024 mixed method study in Vietnam"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"6","author":[{"given":"Thao Thi Van","family":"Luong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3844-8041","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Huong Thi Thanh","family":"Le","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7097-8472","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Anh Quynh","family":"Nguyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3916-0357","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Bao Quy Quoc","family":"Truong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thuy Thi Thu","family":"Tran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"pgph.0006752.ref001","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2025"},{"key":"pgph.0006752.ref002","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2025"},{"issue":"1","key":"pgph.0006752.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"646","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-026-12909-3","article-title":"Diagnostic shifts in extrapulmonary tuberculosis during COVID-19: evidence of vulnerability among migrants in a border province","volume":"26","author":"B \u00c7il","year":"2026","journal-title":"BMC Infect Dis"},{"key":"pgph.0006752.ref004","author":"PATH","year":"2023"},{"issue":"1","key":"pgph.0006752.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"40","DOI":"10.1186\/s12961-024-01132-8","article-title":"Towards universal health coverage in Vietnam: a mixed-method case study of enrolling people with tuberculosis into social health insurance","volume":"22","author":"R Forse","year":"2024","journal-title":"Health Res Policy Syst"},{"issue":"3","key":"pgph.0006752.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"441","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-9566.2009.01161.x","article-title":"Health-related stigma","volume":"31","author":"G Scambler","year":"2009","journal-title":"Sociol Health Illn"},{"issue":"3","key":"pgph.0006752.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"277","DOI":"10.1080\/13548500600595053","article-title":"Health-related stigma: rethinking concepts and interventions","volume":"11","author":"MG Weiss","year":"2006","journal-title":"Psychol Health Med"},{"key":"pgph.0006752.ref008","author":"H Le Ngoc","year":"2026"},{"issue":"6","key":"pgph.0006752.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgph.0000681","article-title":"Good citizens, perfect patients, and family reputation: stigma and prolonged isolation in people with drug-resistant tuberculosis in Vietnam","volume":"2","author":"L Redwood","year":"2022","journal-title":"PLOS Glob Public Health"},{"issue":"2","key":"pgph.0006752.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1177\/17571774231152720","article-title":"Perceptions of stigma among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Thailand, and the links to delays in accessing healthcare","volume":"24","author":"K Chaychoowong","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Infect Prev"},{"issue":"3","key":"pgph.0006752.ref011","first-page":"88","article-title":"A Research on healthcare professionals\u2019 stigma towards tuberculosis patients","volume":"26","author":"MS Bodur","year":"2025","journal-title":"Thorac Res Pract"},{"issue":"1","key":"pgph.0006752.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1186\/s40249-022-01021-8","article-title":"Interventions pathways to reduce tuberculosis-related stigma: a literature review and conceptual framework","volume":"11","author":"C Nuttall","year":"2022","journal-title":"Infect Dis Poverty"},{"key":"pgph.0006752.ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"97","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijid.2021.10.040","article-title":"Adaptation and validation of the Van Rie tuberculosis stigma scale in Vietnam","volume":"114","author":"L Redwood","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Infect Dis"},{"key":"pgph.0006752.ref014","unstructured":"Hue Central Hospital, Department of Pulmonology. 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