HIV stigma reduction and health literacy education program with a cross-generational populaton in an African American faith-based church

Abstract

The aim of this study was to implement a HIV stigma reduction/health literacy educational program to investigate HIV stigma reduction and HIV knowledge and health literacy expansion within a cross-generational African American faith center on the west side of Chicago. The study included a community-based mixed method design, enveloped with elements of “stigma reduction, intergroup contact and religious social capital” theories, analyzed a sample size of fourteen (N = 14) faith center participants’ pre- and post-assessment scores and their direct quotes gathered from focused observations. The study presented significant difference found in HIV knowledge (p = .007), and (HIV) health literacy (p = .041). Additionally, significant difference was found in four out of fifteen HIV stereotypes subscales scores on the Stereotype About AIDS Questionnaire. The study suggests that HIV stigma has potentiality to reduce within the African American faith center population contrary to previous studies where HIV stigma reduction was not evident. The intervention model provided a protocol for partnership development between this faith center and the local community hospital infectious disease program to address HIV stigma, HIV knowledge and health literacy (HIV health literacy).