title: Examining church capacity to develop and disseminate a religiously appropriate HIV tool kit with African American churches.
abstract: Increasingly, African American churches have been called upon to assist in efforts to address HIV/AIDS in underserved communities. African Americans churches may be well-positioned to provide HIV education, screening, and support services, particularly if they are equipped with church-appropriate, easy-to-deliver HIV tools that can be implemented through the naturalistic church environment. To inform the development of a church-based HIV tool kit, we examined church capacity with African American church leaders (N = 124 participants; n = 58 churches represented by senior pastors). Nearly all participants (96%) wanted to learn more about HIV and how to discuss it with their parishioners. Regarding church capacity, most of their representative churches held three regular services each week, facilitated various inreach and community outreach ministries, and had paid staff and computers. Also, many of their churches facilitated HIV/AIDS education/prevention and adolescent sex education activities. Guided by church capacity findings, an ecological framework, and a CBPR approach, we describe the resulting church-based HIV Tool Kit that "fits" naturalistically within a multilevel church infrastructure, builds upon churches' HIV-related experience, and equips faith leaders to efficiently promote HIV services with the communities they serve.
authors: University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA. berkleypattonj@umkc.edu
authors: Jannette
authors: J
authors: Berkley-Patton
authors: Carole Bowe
authors: CB
authors: Thompson
authors: David Alfonso
authors: DA
authors: Martinez
authors: Starlyn Montez
authors: SM
authors: Hawes
authors: Erin
authors: E
authors: Moore
authors: Eric
authors: E
authors: Williams
authors: Cassandra
authors: C
authors: Wainright
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D002977:Clergy; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006266:Health Education; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D033303:Protestantism; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult