Designing and evaluating strategies to recruit African Americans for AIDS/HIV interventions: targeting the African-American family.

The successful recruitment of African-Americans for AIDS/HIV interventions is essential to reducing HIV transmission and the spread of AIDS among this population. However, many high risk groups in the African-American community are reluctant to participate in AIDS/HIV interventions due to factors such as poverty, and cultural and religious values. This paper discusses the basis of these factors and presents a theoretical framework that holds some promise for designing and evaluating AIDS/HIV intervention recruitment strategies and a pilot study implementing this strategy is presented. The results emphasize the importance of targeting and empowering the African-American family in recruitment strategies, as opposed to specific subgroups of high risk individuals. Recruitment messages, which were channeled through a credible source and which stress the role of participants in contributing to the well-being of their families and communities, were most successful.

Preventing AIDS among black gay men and black gay and heterosexual male intravenous drug users.

The black population is disproportionately affected by acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Among those black people most at risk of becoming infected with the human immunodeficiency virus are black men who use intravenous drugs and black men who are gay. This article explores the complex cultural, economic, and social factors obstructing the reduction of the AIDS rate among these men. Implications and recommendations are made for developing effective AIDS prevention efforts by highlighting race-specific resources and supports for high-risk black men.