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Learning about Urban Congregations and HIV/AIDS: Community-Based Foundations for Developing Congregational Health Interventions

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Abstract

Religious congregations are important community institutions that could help fight HIV/AIDS; however, barriers exist, particularly in the area of prevention. Formative, participatory research is needed to understand the capacity of congregations to address HIV/AIDS. This article describes a study that used community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches to learn about congregation-sponsored HIV activities. CBPR strategies were used throughout the study, including proposal development, community expert interviews, Community Advisory Board, congregational telephone survey, congregational case studies, and congregational feedback sessions. Involving community consultants, experts, and advisory board members in all stages of the study helped the researchers to conceptualize congregational involvement in HIV, be more sensitive to potential congregational concerns about the research, achieve high response rates, and interpret and disseminate findings. Providing preliminary case findings to congregational participants in an interactive feedback session improved data quality and relationships with the community. Methods to engage community stakeholders can lay the foundation for future collaborative interventions.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was supported by Grant Number 1 R01 HD50150 from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NICHD. The authors thank RAND colleagues who assisted with data collection activities: Blanca X. Domínguez, M.P.H.; Kartika Palar, M.A.; and Lizeth Bejarano. Dennis E. Corbin, Ph.D., M.S.W. of California State University–Dominguez Hills also assisted with the case studies. Kristin Leuschner, Ph.D., of RAND provided very helpful comments on the manuscript. In addition, we are grateful for the substantial contributions of our Community Advisory Board and community experts, and for the 14 congregations that participated as case studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407-2138, USA

    Kathryn Pitkin Derose PhD, MPH, Peter J. Mendel, David E. Kanouse, Ricky N. Bluthenthal, Laura Werber Castaneda & Jennifer Hawes-Dawson

  2. California State University–Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA, USA

    Ricky N. Bluthenthal

  3. World Vision U.S., Federal Way, WA, USA

    Michael Mata

  4. Bryant Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Clyde W. Oden

Authors
  1. Kathryn Pitkin Derose PhD, MPH
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  2. Peter J. Mendel
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  3. David E. Kanouse
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  4. Ricky N. Bluthenthal
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  5. Laura Werber Castaneda
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  6. Jennifer Hawes-Dawson
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  7. Michael Mata
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  8. Clyde W. Oden
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Correspondence to Kathryn Pitkin Derose PhD, MPH.

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Derose, K.P., Mendel, P.J., Kanouse, D.E. et al. Learning about Urban Congregations and HIV/AIDS: Community-Based Foundations for Developing Congregational Health Interventions. J Urban Health 87, 617–630 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-010-9444-6

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