HIV/AIDS and the Black Church: what are the barriers to prevention services?

Abstract

The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to have a devastating impact on the black community in the United States. Trusted community institutions within the black community--the Black Church among them--have often been reluctant to respond to the epidemic in a manner commensurate with the scope of the problem. The aim of the current study was to understand the barriers to HIV/AIDS prevention services offered by black churches in a northeastern metropolitan area by surveying the ministers who lead the churches.

Methods: The study team constructed a 25-item questionnaire that asked questions about the ministers' and congregational demographics as well as general health and/or HIV/AIDS prevention services offered by the churches. The overall response rate was 82% (N=18).

Results: 83.3% (N=15) of the ministers surveyed reported financial barriers as reason for not providing HIV/AIDS prevention services. A majority of the ministers also perceived HIV/AIDS to be a problem in their communities.

Discussion: The resource-related nature of the barriers and the eagerness of the ministers to get more involved suggest that fostering creative partnerships between AIDS service organizations and churches may encourage more churches to offer HIV/AIDS prevention programming in a culturally acceptable manner.