Development and Evaluation of Short-Form Measures of the HIV/AIDS Knowledge Assessment Tool Among Sexual and Gender Minorities in Brazil: Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: In theoretical models of health behavior, knowledge about disease transmission and self-protective behaviors are conceptualized as important drivers of behavior change. Several studies conducted in Brazil point to an unfortunate convergence of sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations with low levels of HIV knowledge and younger age, lower education, engagement in higher-risk sexual behavior, and never having tested for HIV. Measures to assess level of HIV knowledge have been previously published, including the 12-item HIV/AIDS Knowledge Assessment (HIV-KA) tool. However, measure length can be a barrier to assessment. OBJECTIVE: We started from the 12-item HIV-KA tool and developed candidate short forms using statistical procedures, evaluated their psychometric properties, and tested the equivalency of their associations with other measures of HIV knowledge compared to the 12-item version. METHODS: A convenience sample of SGM was recruited during September 2020 to complete an online survey through advertisements on two social networking apps (Grindr and Hornet). The survey instrument included items on sociodemographic information, prior HIV testing and HIV test results, preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and antiretroviral treatment use, sexual behavior, and 3 HIV knowledge measures: the HIV-KA, World Health Organization Knowledge About HIV Transmission Prevention Indicator, and the Brief HIV Knowledge Questionnaire. We used exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess the factor structure of the of the HIV-KA. We used optimal test assembly (OTA) methods to develop candidate short forms of the HIV-KA and evaluated them based on prespecified reliability, concurrent validity, and statistically equivalent convergent validity criteria. RESULTS: Among 2552 SGM individuals from Brazil, mean age was 35.1 years, 98.2% (2507/2552) cisgender men and 1.8% (45/2552) transgender/nonbinary, 56.5% (1441/2552) White, and 31.0% (792/2552) self-reported HIV positive. CFA indicated a 1-factor structure for the 12-item HIV-KA. Concurrent validity correlations were high for all short forms with 6 items, but only versions with 9 items were as reliable as the full-length form and demonstrated equivalency for convergent validity correlations. Suggesting post hoc convergent validity, HIV knowledge scores using the 9- and 10-item short forms were higher for participants who perceived the Undetectable Equals Untransmittable (U=U) slogan as completely accurate versus not accurate. Suggesting post hoc concurrent validity, participants of younger age, of Black, Pardo or indigenous race, and reporting lower education and lower income scored lower on HIV knowledge. Participants who never tested for HIV scored lower than those who tested negative or positive, while those currently using PrEP scored higher than those reporting past or never use. CONCLUSIONS: OTA methods were used to shorten the 12-item HIV-KA to 9-item and 10-item versions while maintaining comparable reliability and validity among a large sample of Brazilian SGM. However, these short forms did not shorten sufficiently to justify deviation from the full measure.

Translation and validation in Brazilian Portuguese of the reactions to homosexuality scale.

Internalized homonegativity results from the acceptance of negative attitudes about one's same-sex orientation, which has negative consequences for the health of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBM). We translated the 7-item Reactions to Homosexuality Scale (RHS) to Brazilian Portuguese and assessed its factor structure, validity and reliability. The first step included the translation, back-translation, evaluation, peer review, and pre-testing of the scale. Then, we piloted the scale in two convenience samples of adult Brazilians recruited online during October 2019 and February to March 2020 through advertisements on Grindr and Hornet, respectively. The largest sample was randomly split into two groups for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) then confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Criterion and construct validity were assessed via correlations between scale scores and study variables. A total of 5573 GBM (sample 1: 218; sample 2: 5355) completed the RHS. EFA (N = 2652) yielded two eigenvalues greater than one (Factor 1: 3.5 and Factor 2: 1.1). A one-factor solution provided the most interpretable model based on examination of scree plot and item factor loadings (χ2(14) = 1373.1, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.89; TLI = 0.84; RMSEA = 0.19; SRMS = 0.09). Though one-factor CFA showed moderate fit, freeing errors terms to covary, based on item content and interpretation, significantly improved model fit (χ2(12) = 309.1, p < .001; CFI = 0.97; TLI = 0.96; RMSEA = 0.09; SRMR = 0.02). As hypothesized, men who did not self-identify as gay (mean score 17.9 compared to those self-identifying as gay: 11.8) and men who reported no sex with men in the past 6 months (mean score 12.6 compared to those who reported sex with men: 10.6) scored higher reflecting higher internalized homonegativity. The RHS was effectively translated and validated in Brazilian Portuguese and can be used to evaluate the role of internalized homonegativity on GBM's health, as well as its impact on the uptake of HIV prevention technologies.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Perceived Risk of HIV Scale in Brazilian Portuguese.

BACKGROUND: Valid and reliable instruments are needed to measure the multiple dimensions of perceived risk. The Perceived Risk of HIV Scale is an 8-item measure that assesses how people think and feel about their risk of infection. We set out to perform a cross-cultural adaptation of the scale to Brazilian Portuguese among key populations (gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men and transgender/non-binary) and other populations (cisgender heterosexual men and cisgender women). METHODS: Methodological study with cross-sectional design conducted online during October/2019 (key populations [sample 1] and other populations) and February-March/2020 (key populations not on pre-exposure prophylaxis [sample 2]). Cross-cultural adaptation of the Perceived Risk of HIV Scale followed Beaton et al. 2000 guidelines and included confirmatory factor analysis, differential item functioning (DIF) using the Multiple-Indicator Multiple-Cause model, and concurrent validity to verify if younger individuals, those ever testing for HIV, and engaging in high-risk behaviors had higher scores on the scale. RESULTS: 4342 participants from key populations (sample 1 = 235; sample 2 = 4107) and 155 participants from other populations completed the measure. We confirmed the single-factor structure of the original measure (fit indices for sample 1 plus other populations: CFI = 0.98, TLI = 0.98, RMSEA = 0.07; sample 2 plus other populations: CFI = 0.97, TLI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.09). For the comparisons between key populations and other populations, three items (item 2: "I worry about getting infected with HIV", item 4: "I am sure I will not get infected with HIV", and item 8: "Getting HIV is something I have") exhibited statistically significant DIF. Items 2 and 8 were endorsed at higher levels by key populations and item 4 by other populations. However, the effect of DIF on overall scores was negligible (0.10 and 0.02 standard deviations for the models with other populations plus sample 1 and 2, respectively). Those ever testing for HIV scored higher than those who never tested (p < .001); among key populations, those engaging in high-risk behaviors scored higher than those reporting low-risk. CONCLUSION: The Perceived Risk of HIV Scale can be used among key populations and other populations from Brazil.

Translation and validation of the Short HIV Stigma scale in Brazilian Portuguese.

BACKGROUND: HIV-related stigma, or the degree to which people living with HIV endorse negative stereotypes associated with HIV, is associated with poor continuum of care outcomes. We translated the 12-item Short HIV Stigma scale and evaluated its psychometric properties in a Brazilian context with regard to construct validity and reliability. METHODS: The first step included translation, back-translation, evaluation, peer review, and pre-testing of the Short HIV Sigma scale developed by Reinius et al. (Health Qual Life Outcomes 15(1):115, 2017). The second step involved piloting the scale in three convenience samples of adults recruited online through advertisements on different platforms: Grindr (October/2019) and Hornet (February-March/2020), geospatial network apps for sexual encounters for gay, bisexuals and other men who have sex with men, and social media apps (Facebook and WhatsApp, October/2019). The psychometric evaluation included confirmatory factor analysis, differential item functioning using the Multiple-Indicator Multiple-Cause model, and correlations between subscale scores and antiretroviral treatment use and adherence. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, and ordinal alpha and omega from the polychoric correlation matrix. RESULTS: In total, 114, 164, and 1824 participants completed the measure items through Grindr, social media, and Hornet, respectively. We confirmed a 4-factor structure with factors for personalized stigma (3 items), disclosure concerns (3 items), concerns with public attitudes (3 items), and negative self-image (3 items). Small differential item functioning with respect to sample was found for one item ("I feel guilty because I have HIV"), which did not substantively influence estimates of latent factor scores. Grindr and Hornet's participants scored significantly higher than social media participants on all factors except personalized stigma. Higher subscale scores correlated with antiretroviral treatment use among participants from Hornet and with lower treatment adherence in participants from Grindr and Hornet. Reliability as measured by Cronbach's alpha, ordinal alpha and omega were 0.83, 0.88 and 0.93 for the entire scale. DISCUSSION: The Brazilian Portuguese version of the Short HIV Stigma scale had satisfactory psychometric properties with present results suggesting that scores from different samples may be compared without concern that measurement differences substantively influence results though further studies with greater representation of women and heterosexual men are warranted.

Variability across repeated productions in bilingual children speaking Jamaican Creole and English.

PURPOSE: Previous work suggests that variability across repeated productions of the same word may be useful in diagnosing speech sound disorder (SSD) in bilingual children. However, there is debate over what level of variability in transcribed productions should be considered typical even in monolingual speech development. High variability in the input represents a factor that could promote increased production variability in bilinguals. For this reason, the current study examines transcription-based token-to-token variability in bilingual children speaking Jamaican Creole (JC) and English. METHOD: Twenty-five bilingual children aged 3;4-5;1 and twenty-five monolingual children aged 2;9-4;1 from a previous study were recorded producing eleven items in three repetitions. RESULT: Contrary to our hypothesis, bilingual children showed similar rates of token-to-token variability compared to the monolingual children. In a separate analysis of bilingual data across languages, bilingual children were more variable in JC compared to English productions. CONCLUSION: The difference between language contexts suggests that creole languages, which exist on a usage continuum, may be associated with increased variability in production. Our findings suggest that token-to-token production variability may be of similar clinical utility for bilingual and monolingual populations.