New Delhi, may additionally 26 (PTI): In a huge development for public fitness research, Indian scientists have evolved and tested a brand new scale to evaluate stigma skilled via sufferers with sickle mobile sickness (SCD) and their caregivers. Posted in the Lancet nearby health, Southeast Asia, the device, titled ICMR-SCD Stigma Scale for India (ISSSI), is the primary of its kind in India and best the fourth globally.

Sickle cell ailment is a genetic ailment characterised by means of abnormally shaped crimson blood cells, which hampers oxygen transport inside the frame. India has the second-highest burden of the sickness after sub-Saharan Africa. In spite of its incidence, stigma related to the ailment has been in large part under-researched, and not using a current gear for its dimension, till now.

Advanced through a team from the Indian Council of medical studies (ICMR), ISSSI captures 4 sorts of stigma: perceived, internalised, skilled, and disclosure-related stigma. The tool was examined and confirmed in six endemic districts, together with Alluri Seetharama Raju (Andhra Pradesh) and Anuppur (Madhya Pradesh).

Consistent with the look at, ISSSI has verified robust psychometric reliability and may be utilized in both scientific and research settings. It comprehensively addresses more than one dimension of stigma, inclusive of familial, reproductive, social, illness-associated, interpersonal, and healthcare interplay demanding situations.

The researchers emphasized the need for similar research to check the scale across one-of-a-kind cultural and linguistic settings in India, to decorate its generalisability and impact.Sickle cell disease sufferers frequently are afflicted by recurring aches, fatigue, infections, swelling, and even organ harm, making stigma an extra burden that worsens their quality of life.

Sources

https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2025/05/26/lst1-research-sickle-cell-stigma.html

https://www.udayavani.com/english-news/scientists-develop-validate-scale-to-measure-stigma-in-patients-with-sickle-cell-disease