Comparing measures of contact with clients with HIV/AIDS

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Abstract
Contact with patients or clients with HIV/AIDS may be measured in a number of different ways. Three measures of contact with clients with HIV/AIDS were derived from the 15-item contact scale developed by Pleck et al. (1988): an overall or global measure, and measures of the extent to which contact was predominantly social or physical. Data were collected from a sample of 174 Scottish health care workers. The measures of contact did not differentiate between those with a high or low potential contact with body fluids, and they did not clarify the nature or content of social contact. The occupational correlates of the three measures varied considerably. This has important implications for studies relying on single measures of contact. It is recommended that care is taken to ensure that measures of contact and measures of occupational characteristics are not confounded, and that more detailed and sensitive measures of contact with clients be developed.