Adapting a clinic-based HIV stigma intervention to Newark, New Jersey

Abstract

This study describes implementation of a clinic-based HIV stigma reduction workshop adapted from work done in Africa to an HIV clinic in Newark, New Jersey. Clinic workers and clients participated in a series of four, three-hour workshops designed to reduce HIV-related stigma. Quantitative data, including the Berger HIV Stigma Scale and the HIV Stigma and Discrimination among Health Facility Staff questionnaire, were collected pre- and post-test over a twoweek period and again at 12 months. Average scores on the Berger Scale fell between baseline and the two-week follow-up, but increased above the baseline level after one year. Average scores on the facility questionnaire were low at baseline and decreased over the study period. Results suggest a need for “booster sessions” to ensure that the intervention sustains efficacy in the long-term. Furthermore, the findings from this preliminary work suggest the need for further research and a larger scale intervention using a randomized control trial design to formally test the intervention’s effectiveness.