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. 2014 Aug;41(4):387-91.
doi: 10.1177/1090198113515245. Epub 2013 Dec 16.

Measuring HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma Across South Africa: A Versatile and Multidimensional Scale

Edward A Smith  1 , Jacqueline A Miller  2 , Valerie Newsome  1 , Yewande A Sofolahan  1 , Collins O Airhihenbuwa  1
Affiliations

Measuring HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma Across South Africa: A Versatile and Multidimensional Scale

Edward A Smith et al. Health Educ Behav. 2014 Aug.

Abstract

Reducing HIV/AIDS-related stigma is critical in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Although national campaigns and prevention programs have been implemented across South Africa to address this critical concern, assessing the impact of these initiatives is difficult as it requires that measurement of HIV/AIDS-related stigma is uniform and comparable nationwide. The appropriateness of existing stigma measures for this task is unclear as measurement of HIV/AIDS-related stigma may be qualitatively different across South Africa's diverse population. The current study assesses a theoretically and culturally informed multidimensional, HIV/AIDS-related stigma scale for measurement invariance across a sample drawn from two culturally distinct South African provinces: Limpopo (n = 597) and Western Cape (n = 598). Results suggest measurement invariance across groups for the HIV/AIDS stigma scale, supporting the scale's integrity and appropriateness for use across diverse populations.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS; South Africa; measurement; scale development; stigma.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Confirmatory factor analysis model of HIV/AIDS stigma scale for individuals in both the northern and southern regions of South Africa. Results supported a three-factor solution, in which Government Supports, Shame, and Individual Support are correlated. The factor correlations and the factor loadings are included in the model.
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