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

December 8, 2025 updated by: Weiti Chen, RN, CNM, PhD, FAAN, University of California, Los Angeles
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

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

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 (Actual)

19

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Burma
    • Myanmar
      • Yangon, Myanmar, Burma, 99999
        • Myanmar Positive Group
  • Thailand
    • Chiang Mai
      • Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 50120
        • Chiangmai Rajabhat University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

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

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

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
Change in Stigma Score From Baseline to End of Intervention in Protocol Group
Time Frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
Perceived Stigma Scale (PSS). Each item is measured using a 4-point Likert scale and the scale contains four factors: personalized stigma (18 items, subscore total 18-72), disclosure concerns (12 items, subscore total 12-48), negative self-image (9 items, subscore total 9-36), and concern with public attitudes about people with HIV (12 items, subscore total 12-48). Each factor is scored separately, with total score is computed by summing all 40 items, with a minimum total PSS score of 40 and a maximum possible score of 160. Raw PSS scores were transformed into Stigma scores 1-4. Higher scores reflect higher levels of perceived stigma.
Baseline and 8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in QOL Score From Baseline to End of Intervention in the Protocol Group
Time Frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS-R) is a 12-item questionnaire that was used as a proxy measure of QOL in the study. Total maximum score of CAMS-R is 48 and minimum score is 12. Raw CAMS-R scores were transformed into QOL scores 0-3. Higher scores reflect better QOL.
Baseline and 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of California, Los Angeles

Collaborators

Fogarty International Center of the National Institute of Health
Chiangmai Rajabhat University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

July 1, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 19, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

April 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 (Actual)

December 29, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 8, 2025

Last Verified

December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB# 18-001769
  • R21TW011277 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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