Measuring AIDS fears in health workers: Structure of the FAIDSS across countries

Fears of HIV infection and AIDS are important predictors of the responses of both health care workers and others to people with HIV disease. We looked at the structure of the Fear of AIDS Schedule (FAIDSS) in health workers in Nigeria, Australia and the United States and used factor analysis and factor comparison techniques to determine the similarities of the factor structures. In all three cultures, similar five-factor structures were derived (Fear of loss of control; Fear of sex; Fear of HIV infection via blood or illness; Fear of death and medical interventions; and Fear of contact with out-groups), and Cattell's s index indicated that these factors were composed of substantially the same items in each culture. These data suggest that the structure of HIV/AIDS fears are similar in Anglophone health workers in three different cultures.