Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Sep 9;24(1):2440. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19973-x.
HIV self-testing (HIVST) offers an innovative and promising approach to increasing HIV testing among Black men in the United States, a population disproportionately affected by HIV. However, engaging Black men in traditional HIV prevention programs has been challenging due to stigma, medical mistrust, and limited access to preventive health services. This formative qualitative study aimed to explore the potential of utilizing barbershops as an example of a nontraditional healthcare venue to promote and distribute HIVST.
Four virtual focus group discussions (FGDs) consisting of 19 participants in North Carolina were conducted with Black men, including barbershop business owners, barbers, and their customers, to assess perceptions of HIVST and the acceptability of partnering with barbershop businesses to promote HIVST. FGDs were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a deductive coding approach to thematic analysis.
Participants reported that the trusting relationship between barbers and their customers, which may not exist between Black men and health care providers, is a facilitator of collaborating with barbershop businesses to reach Black men for HIVST distribution. Participants recommended providing education for barbers on the use of HIVST, as well as how to inform self-testers about linkage to care following HIVST to build the credibility of the barbers in delivering the intervention. Participants also raised the issue of the cost of HIVST to barbershop customers as a potential barrier to implementation, as well as the possibility that the implementation of such interventions could be seen as out of place in a barbershop business venue. Participants also expressed a strong belief that compensation to barbershops and their employees should accompany any intervention.
These findings suggest that barbershop business venues may provide an appropriate venue for HIVST promotion and distribution, though factors like cost, training, and incentivization of implementers are necessary to consider in implementation planning. Furthermore, partnerships between public health actors and the business community must be built on equitable engagement to ensure the long-term viability of these critical initiatives.
艾滋病毒自检 (HIVST) 为增加美国受艾滋病毒影响比例过高的黑人男性的艾滋病毒检测提供了一种创新且有前途的方法。然而，由于污名化、医疗不信任和获得预防保健服务的机会有限，让黑人男性参与传统的艾滋病毒预防计划一直具有挑战性。这项形成性定性研究旨在探索利用理发店作为推广和分发艾滋病毒自检的非传统医疗场所的潜力。
在北卡罗来纳州，对包括理发店老板、理发师和他们的顾客在内的 19 名黑人男性进行了 4 次虚拟焦点小组讨论 (FGD)，以评估对艾滋病毒自检的看法以及与理发店合作推广艾滋病毒自检的可接受性。FGD 被数字化记录、转录，并使用演绎编码方法进行主题分析。
参与者报告称，理发师和他们的顾客之间的信任关系——这种关系可能不存在于黑人男性和医疗保健提供者之间——是与理发店合作向黑人男性分发艾滋病毒自检的促进因素。参与者建议为理发师提供有关使用艾滋病毒自检的教育，以及如何告知自检者在进行艾滋病毒自检后如何获得护理以建立理发师提供干预措施的可信度。参与者还提出了艾滋病毒自检对理发店顾客的费用问题，认为这可能是实施的一个障碍，以及在理发店经营场所实施此类干预措施可能被视为不合适的问题。参与者还强烈认为，应向理发店及其员工提供补偿。
这些发现表明，理发店业务场所可能是促进和分发艾滋病毒自检的合适场所，但在实施规划中，必须考虑成本、培训和执行者的激励等因素。此外，公共卫生行为者和企业界之间的伙伴关系必须建立在公平参与的基础上，以确保这些关键举措的长期可行性。
