Dataset Information

Stigmatizing attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS: validation of a measurement scale.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although stigmatization has long been recognized as a major obstacle to HIV prevention. The lack of a valid and reliable measurement tool for stigmatization is a major gap in the research. This study aimed to: 1) develop a scale of stigmatizing attitudes towards people living with HIV (SAT-PLWHA-S) and 2) demonstrate its reliability and validity.

Methods

French and English-speaking experts (n?=?21) from different professional communities (academics, practitioners) assessed the clarity and relevance of the proposed items. The psychometric properties of the SAT-PLWHA-S were assessed with a random digit dial population based telephone survey (n?=?1,500) of respondents in Quebec, Canada. Analyses included exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, correlations, multiple linear regressions, t-tests, hypothesis testing of factorial structure invariance, and Cronbach's alpha.

Results

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported a 27-item structure with seven factors: 1) concerns about occasional encounters; 2) avoidance of personal contact; 3) responsibility and blame, 4) liberalism, 5) non-discrimination, 6) confidentiality of seropositive status, and 7) criminalization of HIV transmission. Cronbach's alphas indicate satisfactory internal consistency. An assessment of concurrent validity using Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression shows that homophobia and HIV transmission knowledge are significant determinants of stigmatizing attitudes toward PLHIV. Discriminant validity (t-test) results suggest that the SAT-PLWHA-S can differentiate attitudes between different groups and indicates invariant factor structure across language.

Conclusions

The results of this study suggest that the SAT-PLWHA-S is a reliable and valid tool for measuring stigmatizing attitudes toward PLHIV and that it can contribute to a deeper understanding of HIV stigma.

SUBMITTER: Beaulieu M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4289343 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Stigmatizing attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS: validation of a measurement scale.

Beaulieu Marianne M Adrien Alix A Potvin Louise L Dassa Clément C

BMC public health 20141204

<h4>Background</h4>Although stigmatization has long been recognized as a major obstacle to HIV prevention. The lack of a valid and reliable measurement tool for stigmatization is a major gap in the research. This study aimed to: 1) develop a scale of stigmatizing attitudes towards people living with HIV (SAT-PLWHA-S) and 2) demonstrate its reliability and validity.<h4>Methods</h4>French and English-speaking experts (n = 21) from different professional communities (academics, practitioners) asses ...[more]

PMID: 25476441

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Project description:BackgroundUp till today, studies carried in Lebanon have focused more on the prevalence of HIV and behaviors and quality of life of infected individuals, however, none of these studies discussed the degree of stigma towards these populations. Therefore, the aim of this study is to measure the rate of stigma in terms of knowledge, attitude and practice towards patients living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) (PLWHA) and examine the factors associated with this stigma.MethodsA cross-sectional survey, enrolling 862 participants, was carried across the five governorates in Lebanon: Beirut, Mount Lebanon, North, South and Bekaa. The survey was a self-administered questionnaire which covered information about participants' general demographics, their knowledge, attitudes, practices and awareness towards HIV/AIDS in Lebanon., attitudes towards PLWHA, practices related to HIV/AIDS and awareness regarding HIV/AIDS situation in Lebanon.ResultsThe response rate to the survey was 78.36% (862 participants). Being Muslim (Beta = -2.56) or Druze (Beta = -2.64) compared to Christians were significantly associated with lower knowledge towards HIV/AIDS, whereas having a secondary (Beta = 2.71) and a university (Beta = 3.04) levels of education compared to illiteracy and higher age (Beta = 0.05) were significantly associated with higher knowledge. Higher knowledge (Beta = 0.66) was significantly associated with better attitude, whereas higher age (Beta = -0.14) and being Muslim compared to Christian (Beta = -3.44) were significantly associated with worse attitude. Better attitude (Beta = 0.02) was significantly associated with better practice, whereas females compared to males (Beta = -0.39), having a secondary level of education compared to illiteracy (Beta = -0.88) and being Muslim compared to Christian (Beta = -0.32) were significantly associated with worse practice.ConclusionOur results stress the need for educational programs, advocacy campaigns and policies to help reduce HIV stigma. This will then help start developing interventions and strategies for a possible reduction in the stigmatization level.

Project description:There is little consensus about which of the many validated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) stigma scales should be regularly used, with few being re-validated in different contexts or evaluated for how they compare to other, existing HIV stigma scales. The purpose of this exploratory study was to re-validate the Van Rie HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma Scale, originally validated in Thailand and using a third-person wording structure, for use with people living with HIV in the United States. Adult HIV clinic patients completed a survey including the Berger and Van Rie scales, and measures of social support and depression. Eighty-five of 211 (40%) eligible participants provided data for both stigma scales. Exploratory factor analyses identified three factors to the Van Rie scale: Loss of Social Relationships (new subscale), Managing HIV Concealment (new subscale), and Perceived Community Stigma (original subscale). These subscales were moderately inter-related (r = 0.51 to 0.58) with acceptable to excellent reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.69 to 0.90). The Van Rie subscales were also moderately inter-correlated with the Berger subscales (r = 0.44 to 0.76), had similar construct validity, and tended to have higher mean stigma scores when compared with Berger subscales that were conceptually most similar. The revised Van Rie HIV-related Stigma Scale demonstrates good validity and internal consistency, offering a valid measure of HIV stigma with a three-factor structure. The third-person wording may be particularly suitable for measuring stigmatizing attitudes during an individual's transition from at-risk and undergoing HIV testing to newly diagnosed, a time when experiences of discrimination and processing issues of disclosure have not yet occurred. The stigma mechanisms for individuals making this transition have not been well explored. These scenarios, combined with the observed non-response to the Berger Enacted Stigma subscale items (a surprise finding), highlight gaps in our understanding of HIV stigma and how best to measure it.

Project description:As with other countries globally, Rwanda has faced a recent outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) against a backdrop of an HIV epidemic. At present, there is no successful cure or vaccine for both COVID-19 and HIV. People with underlying conditions, including HIV, are at increased risk of severe COVID-19 manifestations. This underscores the need to enhance the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of people living with HIV (PLWH) to protect this population against COVID-19. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from August 31 to September 18, 2020 among 376 participants who were selected by a simple random sampling technique. A pretested and structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Quality scores were calculated as a measure of the participants' knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) levels. The student t-test was used to compare continuous variables between low (<65%) and high (≥65%) KAP scores. The chi-square test was used to determine the association between KAP scores and categorical variables. All decisions on statistical tests were concluded at 5% level of significance. All statistical analysis was performed using STATA statistical package version 11.2 (STATA Corp., Texas, USA). Of the 376 participants, 363 (97%) obtained a high knowledge score, while more than a quarter of the participants (26%) had a poor attitude score, and the majority (90%) having a high practice score. There was no association between gender, age, place of residence, employment, or duration on ART and knowledge score. Employment status and duration on antiretroviral treatment (ART) were significantly associated with attitude scores (p = 0.004 and p = 0.013, respectively). Gender and duration on ART were significantly associated with practice scores (p = 0.02 and p = 0.012, respectively). There was a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.57) between knowledge and attitude scores, and knowledge and practice scores (r = 0.55). There was a strong positive correlation (r = 0.67) between attitude scores and practice scores. Health education programs tailored for PLWH and aimed at mobilizing and improving COVID-19-related knowledge, attitude, and practice should be prioritized in the Rwandan COVID-19 response.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Previous research on public stigma towards people with mental disorders has mostly targeted adult samples and focused on depression, schizophrenia or mental disorders in general. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate predictors of stigmatizing attitudes towards different mental disorders (including less researched ones) in a representative sample of adolescents and young adults. METHODS:Data from the Swiss Youth Mental Health Literacy and Stigma Survey were used (analytical sample: n = 4,932). Each participant was randomly presented with one of five vignettes (depression; alcohol abuse; depression and alcohol abuse combined; schizophrenia; social anxiety). The structure of stigmatizing attitudes was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Regression models, implemented within a structural equation framework, were used to study predictors for the identified latent variables. RESULTS:A three-factor model for stigmatizing attitudes-consisting of 'dangerous/unpredictable', 'weak-no-sick', and 'social distance' factors-best fitted the data. Female gender was associated with less stigmatizing attitudes. Associations in opposite directions with different latent factors were found for educational and migration background. Exposure to mental disorders (being personally affected, personally having received professional help or knowing someone close who has received treatment for a mental disorder) was either not or was negatively associated with stigmatizing attitudes. In contrast, current mental health symptoms (heightened levels of psychological distress, problematic alcohol use) were generally not or were positively associated with stigmatizing attitudes. Even though the included predictors had some predictive value, the variance explained by the models was rather small (the adjusted R2 varied between 0.03 and 0.26). CONCLUSIONS:The current study indicates that contact with someone who has received treatment for a mental disorder might be an important component of programs aiming to decrease stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental disorders, since this exposure variable predicted lower levels of stigmatizing attitudes. Furthermore, the findings suggest that target-group interventions for specific subgroups need to be considered, as the process leading to stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental disorders appears to differ between specific sociodemographic subgroups.

Dataset Information

Stigmatizing attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS: validation of a measurement scale.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Stigmatizing attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS: validation of a measurement scale.

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