Facilitators and Barriers to HIV Activities in Religious Congregations: Perspectives of Clergy and Lay Leaders from a Diverse Urban Sample

This paper examines facilitators and barriers to HIV activities within religious congregations, the relative internal or external sources of these influences, and suggestive differences across congregational types. Results are based on in-depth interviews with clergy and lay leaders (n = 57) from 14...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of religion and health 2014-10, Vol.53 (5), p.1472-1486
Main Authors: Mendel, Peter, Derose, Kathryn Pitkin, Werber, Laura, Palar, Kartika, Kanouse, David E., Mata, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
AIDS
Attitude to Health
Churches
Clergy
Clergy - psychology
Clinical Psychology
Communities
Community life
Demography
Female
Group facilitation
Health Promotion - methods
Hispanics
HIV
HIV Infections - prevention & control
HIV Infections - psychology
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Laity
Los Angeles
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original Paper
Public Health
Religion
Religion and Medicine
Religious buildings
Religious congregations
Religious Studies
Social Support
Urban Population - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:This paper examines facilitators and barriers to HIV activities within religious congregations, the relative internal or external sources of these influences, and suggestive differences across congregational types. Results are based on in-depth interviews with clergy and lay leaders (n = 57) from 14 congregations in Los Angeles County, California, purposively selected to reflect diversity in racial-ethnic composition, denomination, size, and HIV activity level. Many common facilitators and barriers were related to norms and attitudes, only a few of which appeared overtly associated with theological orientations. Clergy support was a facilitator particularly prevalent among congregations having higher HIV activity levels, indicating its importance in sustaining and expanding HIV programs. Resource issues were also prominent, with material resource barriers more frequently mentioned by smaller congregations and human resource barriers more among larger congregations. Organizational structure issues were mostly centered on external linkages with various social service, public health, and faith-based entities. Analysis of internal versus external sources highlights the roles of different stakeholders within and outside congregations in promoting HIV activities. Potential differences across congregational types represent fruitful areas for future research.
ISSN:0022-4197
1573-6571
DOI:10.1007/s10943-013-9765-3