An adapted scale to measure perceived TB and HIV stigma during household contact investigation

BACKGROUND: Measuring stigma for TB and HIV in households undergoing contact investigation for TB is critical for understanding its impacts on health behaviours and identifying opportunities for intervention. However, standardised measurements for TB-HIV stigma in household contact investigations are limited. M E T HOD S : We adapted and validated a household stigma scale in Uganda. This involved field testing measures from another setting with 163 household contacts of newly diagnosed TB patients, conducting cognitive interviews with seven household contacts, adapting scale items using cognitive interview data, and retesting the adapted scales in a random sample of 60 contacts. We assessed inter-item covariance and performed factor analysis to select the final scale items. RESULTS : In whole-scale factor analysis, no cross-loading of items with scores >= 0.32 was found after the elimination of items based on covariance and symmetry. All TB items were loaded onto a single factor with scores >= 0.5, and all but one HIV item was loaded onto a second factor with scores >= 0.5. The final subscale internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.92 for TB and 0.89 for HIV. CON C L U SIO N S : The adapted TB-HIV stigma scale demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties and is substantially shorter and easier to administer than previous scales, making it suitable for programmatic research and evaluation