Views of young, rural African Americans of the role of community social institutions in HIV prevention

J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2010 May;21(2 Suppl):1-12. doi: 10.1353/hpu.0.0280.

Abstract

Background: We explored rural African American youths' perceptions about the role of community social institutions in addressing HIV.

Methods: We conducted four focus groups with African Americans aged 16 to 24 years in two rural counties in North Carolina. Groups were stratified by gender and risk status. We used a grounded theory approach to content analysis.

Results: Participants identified four social institutions as primary providers of HIV-related health promotion efforts: faith organizations, schools, politicians, and health agencies. They reported perceiving a lack of involvement in HIV prevention by faith-based organizations, constraints of abstinence-based sex education policies, politicians' lack of interest in addressing broader HIV determinants, and inadequacies in health agency services, and viewed all of these as being counter-productive to HIV prevention efforts.

Conclusions: Youth have important insights about local social institutions that should be considered when designing HIV prevention interventions that partner with local organizations.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Attitude to Health*
  • Black or African American / psychology*
  • Community Health Centers
  • Community Health Services / organization & administration*
  • Community-Institutional Relations*
  • Female
  • Focus Groups
  • HIV Infections / ethnology
  • HIV Infections / prevention & control*
  • Health Services Accessibility
  • Humans
  • Male
  • North Carolina
  • Politics
  • Religion
  • Rural Population
  • Schools
  • Young Adult