Citation

Kanagasabai U, Aholou T, Chevalier MS, Tobias JL, Okuku J, Shiraishi RW, Sheneberger R, Pande YC, Chifuwe C, Mamane LE, Njika G, Obongo C, Thorsen VC. AIDS Educ. Prev. 2023; 35(Suppl A): 82-99.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Guilford Publications)

DOI

10.1521/aeap.2023.35.suppA.82

PMID

37406142

Abstract

Faith leaders can be uniquely positioned to guide and support young people on health issues, particularly HIV/AIDS and sexual violence. Faith Matters!, a 2-day training workshop for faith leaders, was delivered in September 2021 in Zambia. Sixty-six faith leaders completed a questionnaire at baseline, 64 at posttraining, and 59 at 3-month follow-up. Participants' knowledge, beliefs, and comfort communicating about HIV/AIDS and sexual violence were assessed. More faith leaders accurately identified common places where sexual violence occurs at the 3-month point compared to baseline: at church (2 vs. 22, p =.000), the fields (16 vs. 29, p =.004), parties (22 vs. 36, p =.001), and clubs (24 vs. 35, p =.034). More faith leaders stated that they engaged in conversations that supported people living with HIV (48 at baseline vs. 53, p =.049 at 3-month follow-up). These findings can inform future HIV/AIDS initiatives focusing on increasing the capacity among communities of faith.

Language: en

Keywords

sexual violence; HIV; communities of faith; faith leaders; faith-based organizations (FBOs); religious entities; young people