Table 2 Factor structure of the Myanmar version of the HIV stigma scale

  I-29 People I care about stopped calling after learning

  I-18 Some people who know have grown more distant

  I-33 People have physically backed away from me

  I-38 People who know tend to ignore my good points

  I-35 Stopped socializing with some due to their  reactions

  I-36 Have lost friends by telling them I have HIV

  I-32 Don’t want me around their children once they know

  I-28 People avoid touching me if they know I have HIV

  I-24 Hurt by how people reacted to learning I have HIV

  I-34 Some people act as though it’s my fault I have HIV

  I-10 Most people believe a person who has HIV is dirty

  I-20 Most are uncomfortable around someone with HIV

  I-16 Most with HIV are rejected when others learn

  I-9 People with HIV are treated like outcasts

  I-40 Knowing, they look for flaws in your character

  I-14 Most people think a person with HIV is disgusting

  I-5 People with HIV lose jobs when employers learn

  I-23 Having HIV in my body is disgusting to me

  I-12 Having HIV makes me feel unclean

  I-7 I feel I’m not as good as others because I have HIV

  I-15 Having HIV makes me feel I’m a bad person

  I-2 I feel guilty because I have HIV

  I-3 People’s attitudes make me feel worse about myself

  I-46 I been refused medical care or denied hospital services because I have HIV.

  I-45 A healthcare worker has not wanted to touch me because I have HIV.

  I-44 Medical provider or hospital worker have mistreated me because of my HIV.

  I-47 A hospital worker made my HIV infection publicly known by marking HIV on my medical record.

  I-17 I am very careful whom I tell that I have HIV

  I-37 I told people close to me to keep my HIV a secret

  I-6 I work hard to keep my HIV a secret

  I-25 I worry people who know I have HIV will tell others

  I-19 I worry about people discriminating against me

  I-41 I pay for karma or sins because I have HIV

  I-43 People would think that I did something wrong in my last life once they know that I have HIV.

  I-42 In order to end the suffering of HIV this life, I have to do good things (e.g. praying, donation).

  Eigenvalue

  Cumulative percentages