Women's Perceived HIV Stigma and Testing in Stann Creek District, Belize: A Population-Representing, Mixed-Methods Study.

Stigma affects adversely the HIV prevention continuum and care cascade. Our population-based, mixed-methods study aimed to assess women's perceived HIV stigma and discriminatory attitudes, and their relation with HIV testing in a high-prevalence area in Belize. This population-representing household survey in the mixed urban-rural setting of Stann Creek District, Belize, collected data from 236 women age 15 to 49 years.

Validation of the Kriol and Belizean English Adaptation of the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale for Use With Adolescents in Belize.

Purpose: To validate a culturally-adapted Kriol and Belizean English version of the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) through comparison with clinical diagnoses made using the Kiddie Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia.

Methods: Participants comprised of 256 adolescents aged 10-14 years and 15-19 years, who completed the adapted RCADS (10 depression items, 12 anxiety items) in one-on-one interviews, followed by a diagnostic assessment using Kiddie Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia administered by trained clinicians. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, diagnostic odds ratios, area under the curve (AUC), and Youden's Index were calculated for RCADS cutoffs and scores on the total scale and anxiety and depression subscales.