Department of Community Public Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, 525 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2019 Apr;6(2):319-326. doi: 10.1007/s40615-018-0527-5. Epub 2018 Sep 26.
A vital piece in implementing and sustaining HIV testing and linkage-to-care within Black churches is the support of the pastors and church leadership. In order to promote church-based HIV testing and linkage-to-care, we explored pastor and church leaders' (1) HIV-related knowledge, (2) their perception of congregant and community engagement in HIV-related risks, and (3) the potential role of the church in HIV testing and linkage-to-care. We conducted focus groups with 57 church leaders and 8 interviews with pastors across 6 churches in Baltimore, MD, USA. Conventional content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The leadership demonstrated different levels of knowledge of the need for confidentiality, and the HIV testing process and reported that low levels of HIV knowledge among their congregants was related to low perceived risk of contracting HIV. Pastors and church leaders indicated that community members engaged in sexual risk and drug use but denied that any of their congregants engaged in such behaviors. Finally, pastors and church leaders have stated that churches were best suited as HIV service centers. These findings can be used to develop culturally appropriate interventions for pastors and church leaders to be better equipped and willing to incorporate HIV testing and linkage-to-care in their churches.
在黑人教堂中实施和维持艾滋病毒检测和联系护理的一个重要环节是牧师和教会领导层的支持。为了促进基于教堂的艾滋病毒检测和联系护理，我们探讨了牧师和教会领袖的：(1) 艾滋病毒相关知识，(2) 他们对会众和社区参与艾滋病毒相关风险的看法，以及 (3) 教会在艾滋病毒检测和联系护理中的潜在作用。我们在美国马里兰州巴尔的摩的 6 家教堂进行了 57 名教会领袖的焦点小组和 8 名牧师的访谈。使用常规内容分析对定性数据进行了分析。领导层对保密性的必要性、艾滋病毒检测过程和报告的知识水平参差不齐，他们表示，会众的艾滋病毒知识水平低与艾滋病毒感染风险低有关。牧师和教会领袖表示，社区成员从事性风险和吸毒行为，但否认他们的任何会众从事此类行为。最后，牧师和教会领袖表示，教堂最适合作为艾滋病毒服务中心。这些发现可用于为牧师和教会领袖制定文化上适当的干预措施，使他们能够更好地配备并愿意在教堂中进行艾滋病毒检测和联系护理。
