Approximately 1 million Americans are living with HIV/AIDS, and approximately 40,000 persons become infected each year. Religious organizations have been providing services and support to people with HIV/AIDS since the 1980s, but the levels of involvement and support have varied. Our own research involving a total of nearly 700 patients with HIV/AIDS indicates that spirituality/religion is associated with patients' quality of life, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms and that patients become more spiritual/religious when faced with HIV/AIDS, but religious organizations are not always receptive to or supportive of patients seeking spirituality/religion; 24 percent of patients in our study felt alienated, 60 percent did not feel welcome in their religious organizations, and 10 percent changed their place of worship because of their HIV status. Unfortunately, little is known about the factors that shape religious organizations' stance on HIV/AIDS, as reflected in special programs and services, as well as clergy attitudes and behaviors. We propose an exploratory study that aims to describe variations in responses of religious organizations to HIV/AIDS and, in particular, examines the factors that foster or inhibit religious organizations' involvement in HIV/AIDS-related activities and religious organizations' supportiveness of people with HIV/AIDS. Our 2-year study will involve clergy and patients in the Greater Cincinnati area and has 3 aims: 1) to describe the HIV-related programs and services that are offered by various congregations and the attitudes of clergy from a variety of religious congregations toward people living with HIV/AIDS; 2) to compare the clergy's and the HIV-infected individuals' views of how """"""""welcoming"""""""" religious organizations are of people living with HIV/AIDS; and, 3) to examine the demographic, structural, and ideological characteristics of religious organizations that make them more or less likely to offer services to and be supportive of people living with HIV/AIDS. The goals of this study will be achieved through testing a preliminary conceptual model of HIV-related involvement and supportiveness using a multimethod approach. We will survey clergy from a sample of religious organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area (N=150), and we will interview patients with HIV/AIDS from the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati VA Medical Centers who have (N=30) and have not (N=30) felt welcomed in their congregations. We will use face-to-face semi- structured interviews, based on previously validated instruments. The clergy questionnaire will include questions about religious organizations' official position on HIV/AIDS, specific programs and services being offered, and clergy's and congregants' attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS. The patients will be asked questions about their experiences with and perceptions of religious organizations in relation to HIV/AIDS. We will use regression techniques to analyze quantitative data and test our hypotheses, and we will rely on content analysis to analyze responses to open-ended questions, which are intended to enrich the interpretation of quantitative data and to provide a check on the local validity of various elements of our conceptual model. Our findings will provide important, multi-perspective views on attitudes towards patients with HIV/AIDS, how welcoming congregations are towards patients with HIV/AIDS, and what types of services they do (or should) provide to patients with HIV/AIDS. The study will inform future intervention studies aimed at improving HIV prevention efforts and support services to people with HIV/AIDS, as well as coping and quality of life in patients with HIV/AIDS. Our study might also provide information to public health officials as to what kinds of religious organizations they should reach out to in order to sponsor HIV-related work. ? ? ?
| Szaflarski, Magdalena; Vaughn, Lisa M; McLinden, Daniel et al. (2015) Using concept mapping to mobilize a Black faith community to address HIV. Int Public Health J 7:117-130 |
| Szaflarski, Magdalena; Vaughn, Lisa M; Chambers, Camisha et al. (2014) Engaging Religious Institutions to Address Racial Disparities in HIV/AIDS: A Case of Academic-Community Partnership. Int J Res Serv Learn Community Engagem 2:95-114 |
| Szaflarski, Magdalena (2013) Spirituality and religion among HIV-infected individuals. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep 10:324-32 |
| Szaflarski, Magdalena; Ritchey, P Neal; Jacobson, C Jeffrey et al. (2013) Faith-based HIV prevention and counseling programs: findings from the Cincinnati census of religious congregations. AIDS Behav 17:1839-54 |
