title: Validity and Reliability of the Iranian Version of the HIV/AIDS Stigma Instrument-PLWHA (HASI-P).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  HIV/AIDS disease has remained highly stigmatized all over the world even though the increasing accessibility of its treatment. This study was designed to adapt the HIV/AIDS Stigma Instrument (HASI) to the Iranian People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Translation -back translation of the scale into Persian was done. Then, the validity and reliability of the instrument were evaluated. The validity of the translated scale was assessed in three ways: evaluating its linguistic validity, assessing its content validity by a panel of nine experts, and exploring its construct validity by factor analysis. The internal con-sistency of the translated scale was evaluated by Cronbach's Alpha.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HASI showed a good Content Validity Index (CVI value >0.75) and Content Validity Ratio (CVR >0.78). The internal consistency of the instrument regarding the total score was α=0.89. The three stigma sub-scales that were dis-tancing and blaming (8 items, α=0.87), fear (3 items, α=0.82), and discrimination (5 items, α=0.83).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This article reports the development and validation of a new measure of stigma, i.e. HIV/AIDS Stigma Instrument in PLWHA (HASI-P), and pro-vides evidence to support its content validity and internal consistency.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ebrahimi-Kalan
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahnaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rimaz
authors.affiliation: Road Traffic Injury Research Centre, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asgharijafarabadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ladan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Abbasian
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dastoorpour
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Management, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yekrang-Sis
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jafarikhonig
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gharibnavaz
keywords: HIV/AIDS Stigma Instrument; Reliability; Validity