African American faith institutions can play a key role in increasing HIV education and testing in communities disproportionately burdened by HIV. This focus group study explored church participant perspectives of a religiously tailored HIV education and testing intervention implemented through a clustered, randomized controlled trial with 14 African American churches in Kansas City. Focus group participants from intervention churches emphasized the importance of churches providing access to HIV screening/education and support for people with HIV. They noted that pastors' involvement (e.g., integrating messages into sermons, publicly getting tested) encouraged others to get tested. TIPS materials were seen as easy to understand, and the intervention fostered more HIV discussions and partnerships with public health organizations. Challenges included time demands and limited church staff. Participants recommended stronger connections among intervention churches for support and idea sharing. Overall, religiously tailored HIV education and testing interventions are highly acceptable when supported by trusted faith and public health partnerships.
Hamilton-Burgess et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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