Psychometrics of the Sickle Cell Disease Health-Related Stigma Scale-Short Form.
Coretta Jenerette, Julia O'Brien, Cheedy Jaja and 3 others
PMID 36495228WHAT IT FOUND
A shorter sickle cell stigma questionnaire measured patients' perceived stigma from doctors, family, and nurses consistently in 197 adults, but it was tested only in sickle cell clinics and does not prove any treatment works.
Key findings
01The short form retained 21 items and grouped stigma into public and doctors together, family, and nurses.
02A convenience sample of 206 adults was recruited, and 197 with complete data were analysed.
03The total and each subscale score were consistent enough to be considered reliable.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample came from specialised sickle cell clinics, so it may not represent patients without access to such care. Participants were adults who could read English and had no known cognitive impairment, so it says nothing about children or people with cognitive impairment. The factor structure was found through exploratory analysis and was not confirmed in a separate sample. No alternative stigma measure was used for comparison. The data were collected years ago, so current stigma may differ. The study tested a questionnaire, not a treatment, so it does not show that reducing stigma improves outcomes.
Declared interests
The article is marked as NIH extramural research support; no author conflicts are stated in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that stigma causes worse pain, anxiety, or delayed care, or that using the short form improves care. It tested how a questionnaire performed in a group of adults with sickle cell disease, not whether any treatment works.