Behaviour Modification for Stigma Reduction and Psychological Functioning Among People Living With HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS stigma is still pervasive and continues to negatively impact the psychological functioning of PLWHA in South African communities. The aim of this study was to design, implement, and to empirically evaluate the efficacy of an HIV/AIDS stigma reduction intervention. Adopting a two-phase study approach, the study was anchored on a cross-sectional design for phase I, and a pre-test post-test control group design for phase II. Phase I study was a baseline assessment of HIV and AIDS stigma experiences as well as psychological functioning among PLWHA, while phase II focused on empirically tailoring an HIV/AIDS stigma reduction intervention - the Stigma Coping Skills Intervention (SCSI). The HIV/AIDS stigma scale was used to determine HIV/AIDS stigma, while the GHQ-28 was used to determine psychological functioning. The sample comprised of 300 PLWHA. Purposive sampling method was employed for phase I study. Phase II study comprised a total of 24 participants equally assigned to experimental and control groups. Simple random sampling method was used for the phase II study. Findings indicated that the intervention was significant on stigma, and was also significant on psychological functioning. The SCSI demonstrated efficacy in HIV and AIDS stigma reduction, as well as improving psychological functioning.