Stigmatized HIV Over Knowledge and Support: A Quantitative Study to Develop and Measure Bangladeshi Women's Social Support When Living With HIV-Related Stigma

Abstract Recognizing the unique context of Bangladeshi women living with HIV-related stigma in a patriarchal society is central to social scientists developing a culturally appropriate instrument for examining the impact of meaningful interventions. Working with 200 Bangladeshi women with HIV who responded to 77 items from three instruments, we used exploratory factor analysis and identified five latent constructs: emotional support, felt normative stigma, incorrect HIV transmission knowledge, correct HIV transmission knowledge, and tangible support. Confirmatory factor analysis model specifications for the Comparative Fit Index, Tucker Lewis Index (TLI), and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) were analyzed and all moderately fit. We thus present the Stigmatized HIV Over Knowledge and Support (SHOKS) model as pioneering work facilitating social scientists in developing a culturally appropriate instrument to generate interventions and better support Bangladeshi women living with HIV-related stigma.