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Validated HIV Knowledge Scales for Use with Adults and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

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A Correction to this article was published on 17 November 2021

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Abstract

HIV knowledge – the information a person possesses about HIV – is essential for the prevention and management of HIV. Therefore, the accurate measurement of HIV knowledge is important for both science and practice. This systematic review identifies extant HIV knowledge scales that have been validated with adolescent and adult populations and summarizes the state of this research. We searched seven electronic databases, which resulted in 6,525 articles. After title/abstract and full-text review, 27 studies remained and underwent qualitative review of reported scale psychometric properties. Many studies were conducted in the last decade (n = 12), reflecting advances in scientific knowledge of HIV. Five were exclusively adolescent-based studies (sample age ≤ 18). Most studies reported reliability (n = 25) or at least one form of validity (n = 21). Future studies should develop or refine HIV knowledge scales so that they reflect recent scientific developments, use rigorous psychometric testing, and target samples that include those persons at highest risk for HIV.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Noah P. Mancuso, Marjorie Margolis, Anwesha Nandi, Gray Rodgers, Reana S. Thomas, and Thi Vu, and for assisting us in conducting this systematic review. We thank University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill librarian, Angela Bardeen, for her guidance in the development of the systematic review. This research was supported by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for AIDS Research (P30 AI50410). DW was supported by the National Research Service Award (NRSA) Predoctoral Traineeship from the Agency for Healthcare research and Quality [2T32 HS000032-30]. We also thank Wendi Seiler and Eunice Okumu for their support of the manuscript team.

Funding

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for AIDS Research (P30 AI50410). Deshira Wallace was supported by the National Research Service Award (NRSA) Predoctoral Traineeship from the Agency for Healthcare research and Quality [2T32 HS000032-30].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Social and Community Psychology Program, Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, 640 Poe Hall, Campus, Box 7650, Raleigh, NC, 27695-7650, USA

    J. L. Stewart, Abby Nance & Laura Widman

  2. Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 302 Rosenau Hall, 135 Dauer Drive, CB7440, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    Deshira D. Wallace, Christine A. Schalkoff & Carol E. Golin

  3. Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 100 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    Breana J. Uhrig Castonguay & Carol E. Golin

  4. Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, 164 Summit Avenue, Providence, RI, 02903, USA

    Michael P. Carey

  5. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Michael P. Carey

  6. Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Michael P. Carey

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Contributions

DDW and BJUC contributed the idea of this article. JLS, DDW, AN, and CAS performed the literature review (abstract screening through data extraction) and initial drafting of the manuscript. Critical revisions of the manuscript were contributed by BJUC, LW, MPC, and CEG.

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Correspondence to J. L. Stewart.

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Stewart, J.L., Wallace, D.D., Nance, A. et al. Validated HIV Knowledge Scales for Use with Adults and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. AIDS Behav 26, 1695–1715 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-021-03521-4

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