Buddhist Understanding and Reduction of Myanmar Experiences of HIV Stigma and Exclusion (BURMESE)

This project aims to explore a multi-leveled conceptualization of the effects of HIV stigma on HIV care engagement in Myanmar by conducting a mixed-method study.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Hiv; Mindfulness; Stigma, Social
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Stigma reduction

Detailed Description

This project is to explore how Myanmar People Living With HIV (PLWH) experience and manage HIV stigma as inspired by Buddhist teaching, and to adapt an evidence-based stigma-reduction intervention to tailor treatment for the unique needs of Myanmar People Living With HIV.

A stigma-reduction intervention will be adopted to the needs of Myanmar People Living With HIV with six focus groups.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 24
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Wei-ti Chen; Phone Number: 310-206-8539; Email: wchen@sonnet.ucla.edu

Study Locations

• Myanmar
  • Yangon, Myanmar, 99999
    • Recruiting
    • Myanmar Positive Group
    • Contact: Min San Tun, MS; Phone Number: 9509421059688; Email: minsantun@gmail.com
• Thailand
  • Chiang Mai, Thailand, 50120
    • Recruiting
    • Chiangmai Rajabhat University
    • Contact: Saiyud Moolphate, PhD; Phone Number: 66-0-53-311-711; Email: saiyudmoolphate@gmail.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. HIV-Positive
2. Care by Myanmar Positive Group/CMRU
3. Living in Myanmar/Thailand
4. can stay in the period of intervention

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Not HIV
2. Living outside of Myanmar/Thailand
3. Not care by MPG/CMRU
4. Cannot stay for the study period

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Protocol group; The intervention is modularized to eight weekly sessions of 2-hour group discussions. The facilitator applies the principle of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and provides psychoeducation to promote the awareness and understanding of HIV stigma as well as training to help participants acquire alternative coping skills, such as relaxation techniques. In five sessions, participants are introduced to the general cognitive-behavioral model of HIV stigma and are encouraged to track their thoughts, feelings, and behavioral responses when encountering external stigma or adverse events. The participants further learn to differentiate helpful and non-helpful coping strategies and practice applying helpful coping skills to effectively reduce their HIV stigma. In the other three sessions, participants further discuss more specific stigma that intersects with HIV stigma, including stigma in healthcare settings, access to social support, and available resources on the society levels.

Behavioral: Stigma reduction; The intervention is modularized to have eight weekly sessions of 2-hour group discussions, led by a trained facilitator. The facilitator applies the principle of CBT and provides psychoeducation to promote the awareness and understanding of HIV stigma as well as training to help participants acquire alternative coping skills, such as relaxation techniques.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Stigma	HIV stigma was assessed using the Perceived Stigma Scale (PSS), a 40-item scale. Each item is measured using a 4-point Likert type and it contains four factors: personalized stigma (18 items), disclosure concerns (12 items), negative self-image (9 items), and concern with public attitudes about people with HIV (12 items). Each factor (or subscale) is scored separately and the total score is computed by summing the 40 items. Reliability coefficient alphas ranged from 0.90-.93 for the factors and 0.96 for the total scale and 2-3 week test/retest correlations ranged from 0.89-.92 (Berger, Ferrans, & Lashley, 2001).	8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
QOL	QOL was measured with Veterans SF (VSF)-12 Quality of Life. VSF-12 is a 12-item health questionnaire developed from the U.S. Each indicator variable is weighted for each of the response choices minus one. The VSF-12 questionnaires have been administered nationally by the Veterans Administration (VA) where there have been more than 2.5 million administrations since 1996. The eight domains are scored from 0 (worst) to 100 (best). The scores are linear transformed t-tests, with 50 as the mean and 10 as the standard deviation (SD) based on a normally distributed population. The VSF-12 was modified from the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short-form (MOS SF-36) in domains that cover "role limitations due to physical and emotional problems" by replacement of dichotomized yes/no choices with a 5-point ordinal scale that ranges from "no, none of the time" to "yes, all of the time." These changes increase the precision and discriminatory validity of the role scales, PCS, and MCS.	8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, Los Angeles
• Collaborators: Chiangmai Rajabhat University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 1, 2020
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): March 30, 2024
• Study Completion (Anticipated): May 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 26, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 16, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): November 18, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): May 4, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 2, 2023
• Last Verified: May 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Mindfulness; stigma; Myanmar
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB# 18-001769

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED
• IPD Plan Description: Data upon request.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No