title: Effects of a Pilot Church-Based Intervention to Reduce HIV Stigma and Promote HIV Testing Among African Americans and Latinos.
abstract: HIV-related stigma and mistrust contribute to HIV disparities. Addressing stigma with faith partners may be effective, but few church-based stigma reduction interventions have been tested. We implemented a pilot intervention with 3 Latino and 2 African American churches (4 in matched pairs) in high HIV prevalence areas of Los Angeles County to reduce HIV stigma and mistrust and increase HIV testing. The intervention included HIV education and peer leader workshops, pastor-delivered sermons on HIV with imagined contact scenarios, and HIV testing events. We surveyed congregants at baseline and 6 month follow-up (n = 1235) and found statistically significant (p < 0.05) reductions in HIV stigma and mistrust in the Latino intervention churches but not in the African American intervention church nor overall across matched African American and Latino pairs. However, within matched pairs, intervention churches had much higher rates of HIV testing (p < 0.001). Stigma reduction and HIV testing may have synergistic effects in community settings.
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407-2138, USA. derose@rand.org.
authors.forename: Kathryn P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Derose
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Arlington, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Beth Ann
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407-2138, USA.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Kanouse
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407-2138, USA.|Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.|Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Bogart
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407-2138, USA.
authors.forename: Malcolm V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Ann C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407-2138, USA.
authors.forename: Karen R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Flórez
authors.affiliation: Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, Long Beach, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah Owens
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407-2138, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hawes-Dawson
authors.affiliation: Azusa Pacific Seminary, Azusa, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mata
authors.affiliation: Bryant Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Clyde W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Oden
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407-2138, USA.
authors.forename: Brian D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Stucky
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D012067:Religion; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012747:Sexual Partners; D057545:Social Stigma
keywords: African Americans; Church-based interventions; HIV mistrust; HIV stigma; Latinos; Stigma reduction