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

Edward A. Smith, Jacqueline A. Miller, Valerie Newsome, Yewande A. Sofolahan, Collins O. Airhihenbuwa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)387-391
Number of pages5
JournalHealth Education and Behavior
Volume41
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2014

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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