Work

Validity evidence for the Clinic Screening Tool for HIV (CST-HIV) addressing factors that undermine health-related quality of life in people living with HIV

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background This study evaluated the psychometric properties and clinical validity of the Clinic Screening Tool for HIV (CST-HIV) to determine whether the CST-HIV demonstrates a reliable multidimensional structure and clinically meaningful associations with established patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) and HIV clinical markers. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted within the Spanish CoRIS multicentre cohort, including 286 adults with HIV. Participants completed the CST-HIV and validated PROMs. Clinical indicators (CD4 + cell count and percentage, HIV-1 RNA viral load, and non-AIDS events) were collected at current and retrospective time points. Analyses included confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity, associations with clinical markers, and age-group comparisons. Results Confirmatory factor analysis showed good model fit, with satisfactory internal consistency across domains (ω = 0.86–0.89). CST-HIV shows convergent validity, including psychological distress with PHQ-4 ( r = 0.79), anticipated stigma with HIV stigma ( r = 0.65), sexuality with sexual satisfaction ( r = −0.74), sleep and fatigue with insomnia severity ( r = 0.79), and material deprivation with social exclusion ( r = 0.67) (all p < 0.001). Anticipated stigma (ρ = −0.16, p = 0.014) and material deprivation (ρ = −0.18, p = 0.005) were associated with lower CD4 + counts, while material deprivation was associated with higher viral load (ρ = 0.13, p = 0.046). Sexual satisfaction was lower among participants aged ≥50 years ( d = −0.47, p < 0.001). Conclusion The CST-HIV demonstrates strong psychometric performance, supporting its use as a valid, brief, multidimensional screening tool to inform person-centered HIV care and clinical intervention.

Source: Frontiers in Psychology

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1940441