THE IMPACT OF WORKING WITH HIV AIDS ON HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONALS - DEVELOPMENT OF THE AIDS IMPACT SCALE

The 24 item AIDS Impact Scale was designed to measure dimensions relev ant to the work of staff in HIV/AIDS units. Both positive and negative aspects of this work are measured. Five factors were isolated and cor responded to different dimensions of AIDS impact. These were gay affil iation, stigma/discrimination, identification/responsibility, grief/po werlessness and recognition/reward. All scales had acceptable reliabil ity (alpha = .72-.89). The gay affiliation factor was negatively relat ed to homophobia, lack of personal accomplishment (burnout sub-scale) and depersonalisation (burnout sub-scale). The stigma/discrimination f actor was negatively related to scores on social withdrawal and intern al coping. The identification with and responsibility for people livin g with AIDS factor was positively related to scores on external coping and negatively related to social withdrawal and choice of work area. Grief and powerlessness was positively associated with social withdraw al and external coping strategies and was negatively related to intern al coping strategies. The reward/recognition factor was negatively rel ated to homophobia and social withdrawal and positively related to rel ationship stability and satisfaction. These significant associations d emonstrate a degree of validity for the sub-factors of the AIDS Impact scale. This scale demonstrates support for the notion that the impact of HIV/AIDS is both measurable and scalable.