Date of Award:

5-2003

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Psychology

Committee Chair(s)

George Julnes

Committee

George Julnes

Committee

Karl White

Committee

Dennis Odell

Abstract

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reduces the number of healthy immune cells in the human body. When the immune cells drop below a certain level, the person is diagnosed as having acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which increases the likelihood of opportunistic infections. As a result, people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH/A) have an elevated need for medical and support services. HIV/AIDS needs assessments identify unmet needs, and the results are used in the allocation of resources. Failure to accurately identify needs due to nonrepresentative samples may result in PLWH/A failing to receive needed services. Random sampling is rarely used, but convenience sampling may provide representative samples if the principles of generalization are followed. The purpose of this study was to assess the degree to which lack of representation is occurring, to assess the impact of lack of representation, and to explore ways to improve the representative qualities of a sample.

Checksum

33e1a0e9ef05e97a86161dfa986cae45

Included in

Psychology Commons

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