Summits - SBCC and C4D
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Summits - SBCC and C4D
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Understanding and measuring AIDS-related stigma in health care settings: A developing country perspective. Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS 2007

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Mahendra VS, Gilborn L, Bharat S, Mudoi RJ, Gupta I, George B, et al. Understanding and measuring AIDS-related stigma in health care settings: A developing country perspective. Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS 2007; 4(2):616-625.



AIDS-related stigma and discrimination remain pervasive problems in health care institutions worldwide.This paper reports on stigma-related baseline findings from a study in New Delhi, India to evaluate the impact of a stigma-reduction intervention in three large hospitals. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with hospital staff and HIV-infected patients, surveys with hospital workers (884 doctors, nurses and ward staff) and observations of hospital practices. Interview findings highlighted drivers and manifestations of stigma that are important to address, and that are likely to have wider relevance for other developing country health care settings.These clustered around attitudes towards hospital practices, such as informing family members of a patient’s HIV status without his/her consent, burning the linen of HIV-infected patients, charging HIV-infected patients for the cost of infection control supplies, and the use of gloves only with HIV-infected patients.These findings informed the development and evaluation of a culturally appropriate index to measure stigma in this setting. Baseline findingsindicate that the stigma index is sufficiently reliable (alpha = 0.74). Higher scores on the stigma index - which focuses on attitudes towards HIV-infected persons - were associated with incorrect knowledge about HIV transmission and discriminatory practices. Stigma scores also varied by type of health care providers - physicians reported the least stigmatising attitudes as compared to nursing and ward staff in the hospitals. The study findings highlight issues particular to the health care sector in limited-resource settings.To be successful, stigma-reduction interventions, and the measures used to assess changes, need to take into account the sociocultural and economic context within which stigma occurs.