title: The Measure of Sickle Cell Stigma: Initial findings from the Improving Patient Outcomes through Respect and Trust study.
abstract: Research about the influence of stigma on health outcomes in sickle cell disease is limited. We administered the recently developed Measure of Sickle Cell Stigma to 262 patients in the United States. The Measure of Sickle Cell Stigma yielded very good internal consistency and four interpretable factors. Significant associations among stigma, pain-related healthcare utilization, and perceived disease severity were observed for three of the four stigma factors (F range = 2.78-5.44). The Measure of Sickle Cell Stigma appears to be a useful tool for measuring disease-specific stigma among adults living with sickle cell disease, and further assessment of its clinical utility is warranted.
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA bediako@umbc.edu.
authors.forename: Shawn M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bediako
authors.affiliation: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lanzkron
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Diener-West
authors.affiliation: Howard University, USA.
authors.forename: Gladys
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Onojobi
authors.affiliation: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Mary C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Beach
authors.affiliation: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Carlton
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Haywood
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D057545:Social Stigma; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards; D035502:Trust; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: disease severity; sickle cell; stigma; utilization