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Faith-Based HIV Prevention and Counseling Programs: Findings from the Cincinnati Census of Religious Congregations

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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.

Resumen

Las congregaciones religiosas están bien ubicadas en sus comunidades para enfrentarse con la VIH, pero sus respuestas no han sido consistentes. Una literatura emergente describe la programación en contra del VIH en las congregaciones mayormente Afroamericano, pero hay limitados datos sobre programación de VIH a nivel regional basados en muestras poblacionales. Esta investigación examinó niveles de programas de prevención y consejería y factores asociados (p.ej. organización, religión) con datos de un censo telefónico de congregaciones en la área metropolitana de Cincinnati, Ohio (N = 477). Más de 10 % de congregaciones (36 % de congregaciones protestantes Afroamericanas y 5–18 % de otros tipos de congregaciones) ofrecieron educación/prevención en si o en combinación con consejería o con consejería y pruebas de VIH. Resultados de análisis del camino (regresión múltiple) mostraron efectos notables y significados de organización/teología en la programación de VIH, pero estos efectos fueron mediados totalmente por otros factores, incluidos otros tipos de servicio a la comunidad y composición racial. Los niveles de programación de prevención/consejería en este estudio fueron altos por normas nacionales, pero hacen falta mayores esfuerzos de reclutamiento y participación en comunidades afroamericanos de alto riesgo.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Grants# 1R21HD050137-01A2 and 3R21HD050137-02S1). During the study period, Dr. Szaflarski was a faculty member in the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio. We thank our research team including: Sian Cotton, Ph.D., Susan Sherman, D.P.A., Anthony Leonard, Ph.D., Stephen Wilson, M.D., M.Sc., Dana Acklin, Fran Hyc, Jenny Baer, Mary Choate, Danielle Cornwall, Debra Weber, Wendy Groznik, Amanda Huber, Mark Killian, Cynthia Pate, Mark Carrozza, and others. We also thank: our ad hoc consultants, Daniel Grossoehme, Ph.D. and Devon Berry, Ph.D., for their time and expertise; our colleagues in the UC Center for Clinical Effectiveness for their constructive feedback; and, Mary Susan Zavos, our business administrator, for her support. Last but not least, we would like to acknowledge the many congregations that took part in the study and the time and effort of the congregations’ leaders and personnel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Sociology and Health Behavior, University of Alabama at Birmingham, HHB 460H, 1720 2nd Ave South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-1152, USA

    Magdalena Szaflarski

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    P. Neal Ritchey & Amy Baumann Grau

  3. Department of Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    C. Jeffrey Jacobson

  4. Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    C. Jeffrey Jacobson & Karthikeyan Meganathan

  5. Department of Sociology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Rhys H. Williams

  6. Department of History, Humanities and Social Sciences, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, NM, USA

    Amy Baumann Grau

  7. Department of Sociology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Christopher G. Ellison

  8. Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Joel Tsevat

  9. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Joel Tsevat

Authors
  1. Magdalena Szaflarski
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  7. Christopher G. Ellison
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Magdalena Szaflarski.

Additional information

C. Jeffrey Jacobson and Rhys H. Williams equal contribution to the study and manuscript preparation

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Szaflarski, M., Ritchey, P.N., Jacobson, C.J. et al. Faith-Based HIV Prevention and Counseling Programs: Findings from the Cincinnati Census of Religious Congregations. AIDS Behav 17, 1839–1854 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0455-7

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