title: Views of young, rural African Americans of the role of community social institutions in HIV prevention.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We explored rural African American youths' perceptions about the role of community social institutions in addressing HIV.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted four focus groups with African Americans aged 16 to 24 years in two rural counties in North Carolina. Groups were stratified by gender and risk status. We used a grounded theory approach to content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants identified four social institutions as primary providers of HIV-related health promotion efforts: faith organizations, schools, politicians, and health agencies. They reported perceiving a lack of involvement in HIV prevention by faith-based organizations, constraints of abstinence-based sex education policies, politicians' lack of interest in addressing broader HIV determinants, and inadequacies in health agency services, and viewed all of these as being counter-productive to HIV prevention efforts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Youth have important insights about local social institutions that should be considered when designing HIV prevention interventions that partner with local organizations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, USA.
authors.forename: Aletha Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Akers
authors.forename: Selena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Youmans
authors.forename: Stacy W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Lloyd
authors.forename: Dionne M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Bahby
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Banks
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blumenthal
authors.forename: Tashuna
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Albritton
authors.forename: Arlinda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ellison
authors.forename: Giselle Corbie
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Adaora A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Adimora
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003151:Community Health Centers; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009657:North Carolina; D011057:Politics; D012067:Religion; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools; D055815:Young Adult
references.citation: Health Soc Work. 1997 Feb;22(1):63-9
references.pmid: 9021419
references.citation: AIDS Care. 1997 Jun;9(3):331-44
references.pmid: 9290838
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 2000 Apr;26(4):289-94
references.pmid: 10734276
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 2004 Oct;35(4):303-9
references.pmid: 15450544
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 2006 Jan;38(1):83-7
references.pmid: 16387257
references.citation: J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 1999 Sep-Oct;10(5):71-9
references.pmid: 10491804
references.citation: Health Educ Q. 1995 Aug;22(3):329-45
references.pmid: 7591788
references.citation: Bull N Y Acad Med. 1990 Sep-Oct;66(5):558-72
references.pmid: 2257387
references.citation: Soc Work. 2007 Jan;52(1):51-61
references.pmid: 17388083
references.citation: Adolescence. 1994 Summer;29(114):251-66
references.pmid: 8085479
references.citation: Sex Transm Dis. 2006 Jul;33(7 Suppl):S58-64
references.pmid: 16432486
references.citation: J Interprof Care. 2004 Nov;18(4):347-59
references.pmid: 15801550
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 1998 Apr;46(7):831-42
references.pmid: 9541069
references.citation: Sex Transm Dis. 2006 Jul;33(7 Suppl):S6-10
references.pmid: 16794556
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 2002 Jul;31(1):31-9
references.pmid: 12090963
references.citation: Health Soc Work. 1996 Feb;21(1):58-65
references.pmid: 8626159
references.citation: Annu Rev Public Health. 1998;19:173-202
references.pmid: 9611617
references.citation: Sex Transm Dis. 2001 Feb;28(2):69-76
references.pmid: 11234788
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 2006 Nov;39(5):634-41
references.pmid: 17046498
references.citation: BMC Public Health. 2004 Jun 09;4:21
references.pmid: 15189565
references.citation: Can J Public Health. 1986 Nov-Dec;77(6):431-43
references.pmid: 3580993
references.citation: Public Health Rep. 1996;111 Suppl 1:89-98
references.pmid: 8862163