Measuring HIV-related stigma among Chinese service providers: confirmatory factor analysis of a multidimensional scale

Abstract

An HIV-related stigma scale for health care workers needs to be multidimensional in that it should encompass attitudes that might be experienced by the general public about people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) (e.g., fear, shame, blame) and, further, specifically capture perceptions of appropriate professional care and medical responsibilities regarding PLWHA. A 17-item, 5-factor multidimensional HIV-related stigma scale was developed and validated using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis among 1,101 service providers in China. The sample was divided into a development sample (N = 551) and a validation sample (N = 550). The fit of the final confirmatory factor model with five hypothesized subscales was excellent in both samples. The final stigma subscales included: Discrimination Intent at Work, Opinion about Health Care for HIV/AIDS Patients, Prejudiced Attitudes, Internalized Shame, and Fear of PLWHA.