title: Faith-based HIV prevention and counseling programs: findings from the Cincinnati census of religious congregations.
abstract: Congregations are well positioned to address HIV in their communities, but their response to HIV has been mixed. An emerging literature describes HIV programming in urban, predominantly black congregations, but population-based data remain limited. This study examined the levels of HIV prevention and counseling programs and associated factors (e.g., religious, organizational) by using data from a phone census of congregations in the Greater Cincinnati area (N = 447). Over 10 % of congregations (36 % of Black Protestant and 5-18 % of other types of congregations) offered HIV education/prevention alone or in combination with counseling or with counseling and testing. Path analysis results showed notable significant (p < 0.05) total effects of theology-polity on HIV prevention/counseling programs, but these effects were fully mediated by other factors, including other community work and racial composition. The levels of HIV programming in this study were high by national standards, but further outreach is needed in high-risk African American communities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, HHB 460H, 1720 2nd Ave South, Birmingham, AL 35294-1152, USA. szaflam@uab.edu
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szaflarski
authors.forename: P Neal
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Ritchey
authors.forename: C Jeffrey
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.forename: Rhys H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baumann Grau
authors.forename: Karthikeyan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Meganathan
authors.forename: Christopher G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Ellison
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tsevat
mesh_terms: D003376:Counseling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003625:Data Collection; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D009820:Ohio / Q000453:epidemiology; D012067:Religion