Measuring Stigma

Excerpted from Evidence-based Generic Tools for Operational Research on HIV, Carla Makhlouf Obermeyer (ed.), 2008 (forthcoming), Geneva: World Health Organization.

Background

AIDS-related stigma and discrimination is a pervasive problem worldwide. Since the early days of the AIDS epidemic, stigma and discrimination have been recognized as obstacles for programs providing HIV prevention and care services to people living with and affected by the disease. People living with HIV face stigma and discrimination in a variety of contexts, including the household, community, workplace, and health care setting.

Measuring stigma in a reliable way and using quantifiable indicators that can be compared across settings can help determine its magnitude and provide baseline information for interventions designed to reduce it. Without reliable measures, it is difficult for program managers, donors, and policymakers to determine which anti-stigma approaches are more likely to be successful in various cultural and demographic contexts.

Horizons has played a key role in international deliberations on measuring stigma and developing appropriate tools to assess it. In this toolkit, you will find a discussion of the different: