RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major global health problem, and it has been particularly concerning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-compliance with anti-TB treatment increases the number of multidrug-resistant cases, causing ongoing transmission and increased morbidity and mortality. The main factors causing TB patients' non-compliance are stigma and lack of financial resources. Stigma harms patients and may cause them to delay seeking and adhering to treatment. Thus, it is important to measure the public stigma surrounding TB. However, few scales are available to measure this stigma as it developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study, therefore, aimed to develop and validate such a scale. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Mixed methods were employed in this study, consisting of a qualitative phase using in-depth interviews with 26 community leaders and a descriptive quantitative survey of 37 people in the Sumedang District to validate the public stigma of tuberculosis scale during the COVID-19 pandemic. The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis, and the quantitative data were analyzed using the Rasch model. RESULTS: The 21 items yielded by an initial qualitative analysis of the data gathered were validated using the RASCH model, yielding 17 valid items with a Cronbach's Alpha of 0.95, person separation of 3.61, real root mean square deviation (RMSE) of 0.37, infit mean square (INFIT MNSQ) of > +1.25, differential item functioning (DIF) of 1.000, the raw variance of 52.4%, and an unexplained variance ranging from 3.4% to 6.9%. CONCLUSIONS: The scale developed to measure the public stigma surrounding TB during the COVID-19 pandemic is valid and reliable to measure stigma surrounding TB in the community, especially the pandemic. Further research is needed to apply the scale to bigger and broader populations to evaluate its measurement consistency.
