Interventions to reduce African-American HIV risk should target factors outside health system
February 23, 2011 | |
A new study concludes that physicians working to reduce the risk of HIV in rural, African-American communities should target factors that operate outside the health care system.
The study, “Understanding Social Capital and HIV Risk in Rural African-American Communities,” was co-authored by Wizdom Powell Hammond, PhD, assistant professor of health behavior and health education at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and published online Feb. 11 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. “In addition to asking patients about their individual health behaviors, physicians should ask them about the availability of support and local community resources since an individual’s behavior both influences and is influenced by their social environment,” said Crystal Wiley Cené, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine and lead study author. “Physicians might also consider tailoring their treatment recommendations based on available community resources.”That strategy, Cené said, potentially may improve both patient adherence and clinical outcomes.
The qualitative study was a collaborative effort between physician-researchers at UNC and community partners in two rural counties in northeastern North Carolina. The researchers conducted 11 focus groups with three populations of African-American participants considered to be at high risk for HIV – youth and young adults ages 16 to 24, formerly incarcerated individuals and adults over age 25. The researchers also conducted interviews with 37 adults considered to be influential “key informants” within these communities. Findings of the study include:
“This study highlights the need for clinicians to look beyond individual-level behaviors when trying to prevent HIV and address HIV-related disparities,” Cené said. “The communities in which people live and the social and material resources available within those communities are equally as important.” Other study authors are Aletha Y. Akers, MD, MPH, of Magee-Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, Penn., Stacey W. Lloyd, MPH, of RTI International, in Research Triangle Park, N.C.; Tashuna Albritton, MSW, UNC doctoral student in social work; and Giselle Corbie-Smith, MD, associate professor of social medicine at UNC. UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
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